Cheltenham Festival 2026: record bets, profits and a black market warning
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- Flutter’s UK and Ireland brands processed 34 million online bets across the four-day festival, with 2.7 million active customers.
- Evoke’s William Hill described Wednesday as its “best ever day” at the event, with Gold Cup turnover expected to exceed £10m.
- The BGC estimates up to £60m may have been staked with unlicensed operators, roughly £2m per race.
The 2026 Cheltenham Festival delivered record online betting volumes for Britain’s biggest bookmakers, with Flutter Entertainment and Evoke among those reporting their strongest performances at the annual four-day horse racing meeting.
Flutter Entertainment confirmed that its UK and Ireland-facing brands, Paddy Power, Betfair, and Sky Bet, collectively processed 34 million online bets during the festival, which ran from 10 to 13 March. There were 2.7 million active customers across those brands over the course of the event.
Evoke’s William Hill was equally bullish. A spokesperson said Wednesday (11 March) was the operator’s “best ever day” at the annual horse racing event, though specific figures were not disclosed. Gold Cup day turnover was expected to exceed £10m.
Lee Phelps, Head of Broadcast and PR at William Hill, said:
“It’s been a Cheltenham Festival to remember for us bookies so far, with Wednesday our best ever day at the Festival. We’re expecting turnover to go into eight figures as the Festival reaches its crescendo.”
Britain’s biggest betting week
Cheltenham remains the centrepiece of the British and Irish horse racing calendar and one of the most commercially significant events for the UK betting industry.
Total betting stakes across the festival are estimated to have reached close to £1 billion, part of Britain’s wider horse racing economy, which generates roughly £11bn in annual turnover.
The event also remains a focal point for operator sponsorship, though that picture is shifting. The Boodles Gold Cup carried the luxury jeweller’s branding for a fourth successive year. BetMGM stepped in to sponsor the Cup that Entain’s Coral brand vacated after more than 50 years, a withdrawal directly attributed to rising tax costs.
Bet365, meanwhile, has confirmed it will end several long-standing British racing sponsorships, including a 23-year backing of the Old Newton Cup and the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock and its title sponsorship of the Craven meeting at Newmarket. The operator linked both decisions directly to the government’s increase of Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40%, effective April 2026.
Black market concern grows
The strong regulated-market performance came alongside a stark warning from the Betting and Gaming Council. The BGC estimated that up to £60m was potentially staked with illegal operators during the festival, roughly £2m per race.
That figure is based on analysis suggesting the illegal market now accounts for approximately 6% of total wagers in Great Britain.
Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said:
“The criminal harmful black market also tried to cash in, targeting punters with illegal betting that offers none of the protections provided in the regulated sector. Rising taxes and increasingly intrusive checks will only make it harder for legitimate operators to compete.”
Last festival before tax hike
This year’s Cheltenham was the last before the remote gaming duty rises to 40% in April, with a further increase in remote sports betting duty to 25% scheduled for 2027. Horse racing betting is carved out of the hikes, but the sport is not insulated from the downstream effects.
Reduced marketing spend and fewer sponsorship commitments from operators are already materialising ahead of the April deadline.
The BGC’s black market data adds a further dimension: if higher costs for licensed firms push even a portion of bettors towards unlicensed platforms, the pressure on regulators and government to act will only intensify as the year progresses.
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