Aside from the July Festival, Betway will sponsor New Market’s Craven Meeting from 15-17 April, the Grey Horse Raceday on 15 August, and the Cambridgeshire Friday on 25 September.
The brand will also sponsor the Haydock’s Evening and Lester Piggot Day from 29-30 May, the Evening and Old Newton Cup from 3-4 July, Rose of Lancaster Day on 8 August, the Tommy Whittle Day on 19 December and Last Fling Day on 30 December.
It will sponsor one day at Market Rasen, the 18 July Summer Plate Day.
Is the betting-racing rift healing?
The plethora of meetings Betway is sponsoring suggests a change in tune among operators, at least among some anyway, as the dust settles on the tax debates and disputes of the summer of 2025.
It was widely expected that racing sponsorships would be for the chop this year, given the increase in gambling taxes announced by Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer in November last year.
Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) went up from 21% to 40% on 1 April. In advance of this, some operators like bet365, BetMGM and Entain’s Coral opted to cut back some of their sponsorship activity, suggesting gloomy times to come for racing. Betway and CopyBet’s sponsorships suggest this may not entirely be the case.
Dan Glavin, Betting Partnerships Manager at The Jockey Club, said: “It is fantastic news that Betway is renewing its association with The Jockey Club via this exciting new partnership.
“The Betway Craven Meeting at Newmarket is when the new Flat turf season really hits its stride and is the perfect time to get the partnership underway.
“In addition to also becoming the fixed odds betting partner of the prestigious Debenhams July Festival at Newmarket, Betway will also have its name associated with a significant number of high-class racedays right the way through to the end of the year.
“The majority of these racedays will be broadcast live on ITV, providing significant brand exposure.”
Finances aside, betting and racing also had a bit of a falling out last year to some extent. In the run up to November’s Autumn Budget, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and other stakeholders in the sport launched the #AxeTheRacingTax campaign.
This included a day of strike action on 10 September. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which was also lobbying against taxes at the time, was critical of this move, and it appeared that something of a wedge was being driven between racing and betting.
It’s not all hard feelings all around though, as Betway and CopyBet’s moves seem to indicate. In CopyBet’s case, the firm has become the official betting partner of Worcester Racecourse for the 2026 National Hunt summer season.
The firm will sponsor 57 races across 19 summer jumps meetings from 6 May-21 October. This includes naming rights to the Fixed Brush Series Final, with CopyBet branding to be featured across the racecourse.
Michael Thomas, Worcester Racecourse General Manager, said: “Ahead of another exciting summer of National Hunt action, we are thrilled to welcome CopyBet as our Official Betting Partner, helping us deliver another packed schedule of high-quality race days on the banks of the River Severn.”
The deal builds on CopyBet’s existing racing sponsorship portfolio including Carlisle, Exeter, Haydock, Huntington and Kempton, as well as a brand ambassador deal with Irish jockey Jonathan Burke.
“We’re delighted to partner with Worcester Racecourse as its official betting partner,” said Mark Smith, Managing Director of CopyBet UK. “British horse racing is set to feature at the centre of another incredible summer of sport in the UK, and we are proud to continue supporting one of the nation’s most popular sports.”
Racing emerged somewhat victorious in last year’s budget announcement, having been excluded from the increase in RGD and next year’s increase from General Betting Duty (GBD) from 15% to 25%.
A knock-on effect on racing is still expected, however, as a result of the abovementioned marketing cutbacks. While Betway and CopyBet have not joined the exodus, other operators are still planning on limiting their visibility in racing, and the sport is in need of as much financial support as it can get.
Dingnews.com 15/04/2026