Ladbrokes Coral and ARC stand-off is finally over

commercial stand-off between Arena Racing Company and bookmaking giant Ladbrokes Coral has finally come to an end. The stand-off led to a number of blackouts of race meetings in thousands of betting shops over the country. The saga has been ongoing since the beginning of the year, where six ARC courses switched from SIS to new channel TRP, with a further 13 courses set to join from the start of 2018. William Hill and Paddy Power signed up to the new channel, however, BetFred and Ladbrokes Coral did not, leaving customers with blank screens. Ladbrokes Coral used other methods to give the customers information on the racing meets which did not go down too well with TRP, who issued legal proceeding against them over claims the operator was misusing their data. Ladbrokes were ordered to close all their betting shops on the six Arc tracks involved as part of the dispute, while Ladbrokes Coral were also informed they were no longer licensed to provide online streaming of races from Arc tracks. A media rights deal, believed to be for five years, for betting shop channel The Racing Partnership (TRP) was agreed between the two sides on Thursday, which means action from all Britain’s courses will be shown again in the Ladbrokes Coral’s retail estate of 3,820 betting shops. Arc Chief Executive Martin Cruddace said: “We are delighted to have agreed this deal with Ladbrokes Coral.It is testament to the symbiotic nature of racing and betting that we have been able to agree a deal based on sound commercial principles for both parties. “I’m very grateful for the patience and support of my shareholders.We look forward to working with everyone at Ladbrokes Coral as we move into a new era of collaboration and co-operation.” Ladbrokes Coral Chief Executive Jim Mullen, added: “We are pleased to have struck a deal with The Racing Partnership that gives us a joint incentive to grow the sport. “Horseracing is part of our heritage and despite the vast choice of sports to bet on in the modern era it remains a core product for our business, so it’s a positive development that once again all our customers, in shops and online, can enjoy a full range of horseracing action.”