UK-licensed online sportsbook Fairplay will make its on-course bookmaker debut at the Qatar Goodwood Festival this week after acquiring its first racecourse betting pitch.
The operator said it will launch a fully branded Fairplay pitch on the meeting’s opening day. The Qatar Goodwood Festival starts tomorrow (Tuesday) and is one of the biggest fixtures in the British Flat racing calendar.
Fairplay founder Billy Gowing will run the pitch alongside the sportsbook’s Head of Trading, Neville Burdock. Gowing said: “Goodwood is the ideal place for Fairplay to make its on-course debut. We have no intention of trying to be at every meeting in the country. Our ambition is to build a presence at the major festivals and put the Fairplay name on some of the biggest stages in British racing.
“Being on-course gives us another opportunity to demonstrate that Fairplay is genuinely invested in the sport. It allows racing bettors to interact with the brand in person, while creating greater awareness of the online sportsbook we are building.
“Neville and I are both huge racing fans, so there is also a real sense of excitement about running the pitch ourselves. Neville knows the numbers and the markets inside out, so he will be making sure I do not take on too many liabilities.”
Fairplay said the move is part of a selective strategy focused on UK racing festivals rather than operating across the full race meeting calendar, and that on-course activity is intended to complement its online business.
Gowing also pointed to market pressures, adding: “There is no question that this is a challenging period for British racing and betting, particularly with the impact of affordability checks and increasing taxation.”
