Horse Racing Betting Changes for 2018: Will there be any?

The year 2017 was massive for horse race betting and gambling in Ireland with total Tote betting up 7.2 percent from €96.8 million in 2016 to €103.8 million. And expert opinion predicts that this year will bring similar growth. But aside from more money, can we expect any significant changes to the industry this year?

Before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at how the betting industry is faring in Ireland.

The exciting overall growth in domestic betting mentioned above hides an underlying problem in the racing industry: fewer people are turning up at the races. Yes, while it seems inconceivable that one betting platform within the industry can achieve growth of €7million in a year yet see a decline in race attendances, this is what has happened. Much of the growth in the Tote’s turnover was from online and co-mingling with foreign Tote operators. In fact the on-course betting with the traditional bookmakers continues to contract at an alarming rate.

Total attendances for the year dropped by three percent from 1.32 million to 1.28 million, but this is said to be the result of the reduced crowd numbers at the Curragh as it undergoes redevelopment. While there is some merit in that claim it is doubtful that this would amount to a drop of 40,000 attendees, and the truth is there are fewer people turning up on average race days. However, regardless of the drop in attendances, horse race betting in Ireland is still doing well.

This year, we expect to see more online betting than ever before, and those crowd attendance figures would seem to back us up on this theory. A day at the races can be an expensive day out, and this is particularly true if there’s travel involved. So, it’s little wonder that online betting portals here in Ireland have continued to flourish in recent years.

And with major players such as Paddy Power, Bet365 and Tote offering mobile apps, there has never been a better time to bet from the comfort of your own home, garden or wherever. In fact, while betting shops and pubs are still enjoying a decent trade on race days, it’s not inconceivable that this year will see a further drop in profits at brick-and-mortar establishments.

When all is said and done though, there’s still a doubt in some punters’ minds over the security of online gambling. Personal data, bank accounts, credit card numbers; it seems that to bet online these days, you have to jump through a series of hoops to open an account for betting. Those doubts may be erased though as we see cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and to a lesser extent, Litecoin enter the market.

As it happens, the gaming industry has already embraced the move to cryptocurrency with many online gambling platforms now accepting either Bitcoin or Ethereum. There’s even a new token aimed at gamblers. CoinPoker uses CHP (Chips) tokens that can be used in a variety of their tournaments from low stakes to high-roller games. It’s possible that the currency will eventually make it into live poker events and become the chosen token for online gamblers.

It’s a bold move that could see CoinPoker propelled to the forefront of the industry, and if we’re honest, we’re surprised none of the betting heavyweights have come up with something similar. Could we see a Paddy Power cryptocurrency take the industry by storm? If CoinPoker’s example is anything to go by, then it makes sense. A cryptocurrency aimed at online gamblers would be huge and would remove the need for dependency on the volatile Bitcoin.

Of course, a betting cryptocurrency isn’t one of the changes we expect to see this year, but it would be nice (along with an industry less reliant on government subsidies). No, the most notable trend we expect this year is a slight shift from fiat currencies to crypto. They’re safe, anonymous, easy to buy and it is the logical next step. Perhaps it’s time to invest in a digital wallet after all. The year 2017 was massive for horse race betting and gambling in Ireland with total Tote betting up 7.2 percent from €96.8 million in 2016 to €103.8 million. And expert opinion predicts that this year will bring similar growth. But aside from more money, can we expect any significant changes to the industry this year?

Before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at how the betting industry is faring in Ireland.

The exciting overall growth in domestic betting mentioned above hides an underlying problem in the racing industry: fewer people are turning up at the races. Yes, while it seems inconceivable that one betting platform within the industry can achieve growth of €7million in a year yet see a decline in race attendances, this is what has happened. Much of the growth in the Tote’s turnover was from online and co-mingling with foreign Tote operators. In fact the on-course betting with the traditional bookmakers continues to contract at an alarming rate.

Total attendances for the year dropped by three percent from 1.32 million to 1.28 million, but this is said to be the result of the reduced crowd numbers at the Curragh as it undergoes redevelopment. While there is some merit in that claim it is doubtful that this would amount to a drop of 40,000 attendees, and the truth is there are fewer people turning up on average race days. However, regardless of the drop in attendances, horse race betting in Ireland is still doing well.

This year, we expect to see more online betting than ever before, and those crowd attendance figures would seem to back us up on this theory. A day at the races can be an expensive day out, and this is particularly true if there’s travel involved. So, it’s little wonder that online betting portals here in Ireland have continued to flourish in recent years.

And with major players such as Paddy Power, Bet365 and Tote offering mobile apps, there has never been a better time to bet from the comfort of your own home, garden or wherever. In fact, while betting shops and pubs are still enjoying a decent trade on race days, it’s not inconceivable that this year will see a further drop in profits at brick-and-mortar establishments.

When all is said and done though, there’s still a doubt in some punters’ minds over the security of online gambling. Personal data, bank accounts, credit card numbers; it seems that to bet online these days, you have to jump through a series of hoops to open an account for betting. Those doubts may be erased though as we see cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and to a lesser extent, Litecoin enter the market.

As it happens, the gaming industry has already embraced the move to cryptocurrency with many online gambling platforms now accepting either Bitcoin or Ethereum. There’s even a new token aimed at gamblers. CoinPoker uses CHP (Chips) tokens that can be used in a variety of their tournaments from low stakes to high-roller games. It’s possible that the currency will eventually make it into live poker events and become the chosen token for online gamblers.

It’s a bold move that could see CoinPoker propelled to the forefront of the industry, and if we’re honest, we’re surprised none of the betting heavyweights have come up with something similar. Could we see a Paddy Power cryptocurrency take the industry by storm? If CoinPoker’s example is anything to go by, then it makes sense. A cryptocurrency aimed at online gamblers would be huge and would remove the need for dependency on the volatile Bitcoin.

Of course, a betting cryptocurrency isn’t one of the changes we expect to see this year, but it would be nice (along with an industry less reliant on government subsidies). No, the most notable trend we expect this year is a slight shift from fiat currencies to crypto. They’re safe, anonymous, easy to buy and it is the logical next step. Perhaps it’s time to invest in a digital wallet after all.