Is the current media rights model sustainable?


Not indefinitely. Tere is a danger of creating a destructive cycle. Betting shops close, racing loses income from those shops and the temptation is then to recover that revenue by charging the remaining estate more. Tat makes additional shops uneconomic and potentially accelerates further closures.


Most operators have now signed two or three-year media rights contracts, so in the immediate term we are where we are. But if rights holders try to extract substantially more from the remaining estate over the next three to five years, the outlook becomes very difficult. At some point racing could find itself asking how the retail footprint became so small. If that happens, the cost of media rights will have played a significant part.


Does British racing need to rethink its relationship with retail betting?


grown beyond 200 shops, we spent around 15 years at roughly 100, so this hasn’t been a sudden expansion. Much of our growth over the last five years has come through acquiring other independents.


I also think we have developed a strong formula. We’ve built a recognisable brand among retail betting customers, including through sponsoring seven or eight greyhound stadia, and we invest around £200,000 on average in every branch we acquire or open organically. Tat level of investment is important.


Ten it comes down to people. We want good employees and we invest in training them properly. Ultimately, the formula is relatively straightforward: the right location, appropriate investment and good people. However, it doesn’t mean every shop succeeds. I closed a branch recently because we simply couldn’t make the economics work, with a rent review proving the final factor. We’re not immune to the pressures facing the sector, but the model continues to work for us.


One of racing’s broader challenges may be that we simply have too many racecourses and too much content. Bookmakers


might have to accept receiving less content, but racing may also have to accept that some rationalisation is necessary if we are going to have a product that bookmakers can continue to buy


at an affordable price. Otherwise, there is a risk that the current model ultimately cannibalises itself.


Yes, although I can only speak confidently about retail because I don’t know enough about the structure of online revenues. One of racing’s broader challenges may be that we simply have too many racecourses and too much content.


Bookmakers might have to accept receiving less content, but racing may also have to accept that some rationalisation is necessary if we are going to have a product that bookmakers can continue to buy at an affordable price. Otherwise, there is a risk that the current model ultimately cannibalises itself.


Why has Jenningsbet been able to expand while others are closing shops?


We have the advantage of being a long-established business. My grandfather started the company and Jennings is actually my mother’s maiden name. We have mature shops that have traded since the 1960s in locations that have historically performed well. Although we’ve


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GREG KNIGHT CEO, Jenningsbet


Is the decline in shop numbers really a process of ‘right-sizing’?


I believe so. Fewer people bet in shops because a significant proportion of customers have migrated online, so logically there need to be fewer betting shops. Tere was an old rule of thumb in retail development that there should be roughly one betting shop for every 7,000 people. Today, I think the figure is closer to one for every 12,000.


But the Gambling Commission figures illustrate an important point. In 2018/19, retail betting GGY was around £3.1bn across 8,320 betting shops. By 2024/25, GGY had fallen to £2.5bn and the estate to 5,825 shops. So while overall GGY has declined by almost 20 per cent, average GGY per shop has actually increased from around £370,000 to £429,000 - a rise of approximately 16 per cent.


Tat tells you something important about what is happening in retail. Te overall market has contracted, but the shops that remain are, on


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