34 B 2 B Retail
GBI Racing, which distributes British and Irish racing to betting outlets around the world, has launched its coverage in Cyprus for the first time, following a deal with the Nicosia Race Club (NRC). The GBI Racing service will initially be broadcast in 134 betting shops for 360-plus days a year and bets placed will be co-mingled with the British and Irish Tote pools.
Earlyindicationsshow there is a strongappetite for GBI Racingand expectations are highthat Cyprus will perform as one of our top fiveTote customers worldwide.
Richard Brooke Chairman GBI Racing
CONTENT Evening service on free trial from SIS ”
With the nights starting to roll in, SIS is offering bookmakers a taste of its evening service and how useful it could be to business. SIS FACTS HAS SWITCHED
FROM LONDON TO MEDIACITYUK
S
IS is offering bookmakers an extended evening service. Many retail outlets are now staying open later, and SIS is
helping them provide live betting opportu- nities by supplying an extended SIS Facts service. The service is being offered free of charge on a three-month trial and will run until 22.30 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Friday evenings.
Included in the content will be live pic-
tures every night from Latin American thor- oughbred horse racing and greyhounds from Ireland’s premier track Shelbourne Park on Wednesdays and Thursdays. SIS will also include up to two non-BAGS meet- ings, but this will be commentaries only. The service will come with the usual full betting and results service and any extra virtual content available will also be in- cluded. Brent Dolan, director of operations for
SIS Betting, said: “Lots of betting shops, both independents and majors, are now staying open later and we’ve got the con- tent to help them. We’re going to run this as a trial and will be looking for regular feed- back from our customers. We want to en- sure we are providing the right amount of content and assess the demand.” SIS Facts was broadcast for the first time this month from SIS’ new home at Me- diaCityUK after more than 25 years of being produced and broadcast from SIS’ Corsham Street operation in London. Jason Barker, production director at SIS Betting, has overseen the relocation of key services to MediaCityUK and he said: “This was a massive step in the huge transfer of services from the London base. In the lead up to the opening show the service had to be thoroughly tested weeks in advance to make sure everything was in place. “As almost all LBOs in the UK and Ireland
receive this service, there was a large amount of pressure on the team to make sure everything was in place and ready for the first show. We’re now up and running, which is testament to everyone who was involved with the project.” Data and text screen services are also
being rolled out from the Infocentre at the new HQ which mirrors and provides a back-up to the similar operation in Milton Keynes.
Meanwhile, an SIS-sponsored initiative to encourage greyhound ownership has led to a large increase of interest in what was a declining market. SIS and BAGS, the Bookmakers’ Afternoon Greyhound Serv- ice, agreed to sponsor the Racing Post’s classified ads so owners could advertise their greyhounds free of charge, instead of the usual £80 fee.
Mark Sutherland, classified sales man- ager at the Racing Post, said: “Four years
ago we were taking two pages of advertis- ing, then confidence dropped in racing and people became worried about spending money on an advert. Owners were hanging onto dogs rather than selling them, be- cause £80 is a lot to spend if you’re not sure whether you’ll find a buyer. Now people are putting dogs up for sale because they have nothing to lose.” He added: “It’s having a positive impact on the industry because things are getting moving again, and it’s bringing people back to the Racing Post on Thursdays be- cause that’s when we have our classified page. We’re really pleased with the re- sponse.”
Dolan added: “We’re always keen to support our key industries and it’s great that it’s going so well. We’re already speak- ing to BAGS about further initiatives, in- cluding the possibility of greyhound own- ership, to keep the momentum going.”
BettingBusinessInteractive • OCTOBER 2012
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