Betfred
| File:New-betfred-logo.png | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Betting and gaming |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Warrington |
| Website | www.betfred.com |
Betfred is a UK-based bookmaker, named after its co-founders Fred and Peter Done.[note 1] It was first established as a single shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover in 2004 was more than £3.5 billion, having risen from £550 million in 2003.[1] The company has more than 1,350 betting shops.[2]
Its head office is in Birchwood, Warrington. The managing director is John Haddock who started with the company as a regional manager.
Fred Done was the first ever bookmaker to pay out early (i.e. before the result was guaranteed), when in March 1998 it paid out to gamblers who had bet that Manchester United would win the Premier League, only for Arsenal to pip United by one point. Betfred also paid out early on Manchester United [3] to win the 2011–12 Premier League title, only for Manchester City to beat them on goal difference.
During the 2004–05 FA Premier League season, Done lost £1m to fellow bookmaker Victor Chandler after staking that amount that Manchester United would finish higher than Chelsea.[4]
Contents
Sponsorship
Betfred are the official betting partner of Wembley National Stadium and operate betting booths for all England and Football Association matches. Betfred have recently extended this deal for a further four years. Meanwhile, Betfred are the official betting partner of Tottenham Hotspur.
It also sponsors Haydock Park Racecourse including the Group 1 Betfred Sprint Cup in September. Betfred also have an on course betting shop at the North West track. Betfred also sponsor races at Kempton Park Racecourse and provide an on course betting facility.
Betfred are main sponsors of three greyhound tracks Nottingham Greyhound Stadium, Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield and Kinsley Greyhound Stadium.
Betfred.com also sponsored the World Snooker Championship held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for four tournaments from 2009 to 2012, and are sponsoring it again from 2015 until at least 2017.
Goals Galore
Goals Galore is a coupon exclusive to Betfred which initially started out in the retail estate.
Each week the Goals Galore coupon is published and customers have to pick which games they think both teams will score in.
A Goals Galore Bonus coupon is also available which contains fewer games, this makes it tougher but customers are rewarded with bigger odds.
Betfred customers can place their Goals Galore bets in shop, online or via mobile. iPhone and Android users can also download the Goals Galore App.
Marketing Campaigns
The most notable campaign was the new account offer of ‘6/1 Arsene Wenger to wear a coat’. In the weeks prior and post campaign numerous articles surfaced with humorous video content of Arsene Wenger trying (and failing) to zip up his knee length coat.
Betfred used the next available opportunity that an Arsenal game would be screened live on BT Sport to deliver a topical Acquisition offering.
Using a clever play on the topicality of Arsene Wenger’s coat at the time coupled with the display of Betfred’s ‘Fun & Friendly’ core brand values brought fantastic results, including trending in the app store popular searches for 48 hours.
Arsene Wenger emerged from the tunnel without a coat which resulted in a high volume of tweets regarding the offer, culminating in the Sky Sports News app updating users that he had put his coat on.
Partnerships
In March 2015 Betfred teamed up with Rewards4Racing in a joint effort to promote racing to a wider audience.
Rewards4Racing allows members to spend points with various retailers and in return they earn points, which can then be used to purchase tickets from 16 courses around the country.
Customers who sign up for a Betfred account are able to claim 2000 points whilst they can add to their total with every £1 staked at Betfred equalling a point for their Rewards4Racing balance.
Fred’s Bonus Hour
Each Saturday, Betfred boss Fred Done streams a live bonus hour to his shops, offering price boosts on some of the big favourites running that day, a notable one being Golden Horn to win the Derby.
In late 2014 a decision was made to show the stream live on Betfred.com.
The Tote
On 3 June 2011 Betfred bought The Tote in a deal worth £265m.[5] The company pledged £155m into racing over the next seven years,[6] as well as creating the Tote Racing Development Board, giving greater say to industry figures.[7] Football manager and racehorse owner Sir Alex Ferguson had lent his support to Betfred's bid.[8]
References
Explanatory notes
- ↑ Pronounced to rhyme with "bone".
Notes
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- ↑ Free Betfred: Shops List
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