Coral Ending Long-running Sponsorship Of Cheltenham Festival Handicap

Coral has ended its sponsorship at the Cheltenham Festival, citing wagering tax rises as the factor for bringing its backing to an end.


The bookie, which to the Entain group, has actually sponsored the Coral Cup given that its inception in 1993 however following the announcement of impending increases to remote gaming task, which is imposed on online casino-style video games, and remote wagering responsibility on sports, omitting British racing, it has reassessed its marketing spend.


Simon Clare, Entain's UK consumer PR director, described the choice to end the Coral Cup sponsorship was made with "some sadness", while highlighting the need for the firm to obtain "more worth" from events in future.


He stated: "Coral has been the longest-running sponsor at the Cheltenham Festival given that 1974, but the sheer size of the government's recent tax boost on wagering operators indicates we are having to take extremely challenging choices as we look to reduce a few of the substantial effect, none harder or regrettable then bringing our sponsorship at Cheltenham to an end.


"The Jockey Club are strong, long-standing partners of Entain, and although we are stepping 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 brand names.


"Horse racing stays extremely important to Entain, and Coral and Ladbrokes have some of the biggest and most long-lasting sponsorships in the calendar, consisting of the Ladbrokes King George, which had one of its best ever renewals a few weeks earlier, and the Coral-Eclipse where in 2015 we celebrated 50 years of sponsorship. The Cheltenham Festival is also a massive 4 days for our organization and our customers, and we will be promoting and celebrating it as much as ever in our shops and online and across our marketing channels.


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


"However, the significant change in the taxation landscape for betting operators suggests we need to drive much more value out of the events we sponsor, and review with even higher examination where we invest our marketing spend, which has actually resulted in completion of the Coral Cup sponsorship."