Coral Ending Long-running Sponsorship Of Cheltenham Festival Handicap

Coral has actually ended its sponsorship at the Cheltenham Festival, pointing out wagering tax increases as the reason for bringing its support to an end.


The bookie, which is part of the Entain group, has sponsored the Coral Cup given that its creation in 1993 but following the announcement of impending boosts to remote gaming responsibility, which is imposed on online casino-style games, and remote betting task on sports, leaving out British racing, it has actually reassessed its marketing invest.


Simon Clare, Entain's UK customer PR director, described the choice to end the Coral Cup sponsorship was made with "some unhappiness", while highlighting the need for the company to derive "more value" from occasions in future.


He stated: "Coral has actually been the longest-running sponsor at the Cheltenham Festival because 1974, but the large size of the federal government's current tax increase on wagering operators suggests we are needing to take very hard decisions as we look to alleviate some of the huge effect, none harder or regrettable then bringing our sponsorship at Cheltenham to an end.


"The Jockey Club are strong, enduring partners of Entain, and although we are away from this sponsorship, we will continue to work passionately and collaboratively with their racecourse groups on the big sponsorships we have with them under our Ladbrokes and Coral brands.


"Horse racing remains very important to Entain, and Coral and Ladbrokes have some of the most significant and most long-lasting sponsorships in the calendar, including the Ladbrokes King George, which had among its finest ever renewals a couple of weeks back, and the Coral-Eclipse where in 2015 we commemorated 50 years of sponsorship. The Cheltenham Festival is likewise a huge 4 days for our organization and our clients, and we will be promoting and celebrating it as much as ever in our stores and online and across our marketing channels.


Langer Dan (far ideal) winning the 2024 Coral Cup (David Davies/Jockey Club)


"However, the considerable change in the taxation landscape for betting operators indicates we require to drive a lot more value out of the events we sponsor, and review with even greater scrutiny where we invest our marketing invest, which has led to completion of the Coral Cup sponsorship."