Paddy Power has infuriated horse racing bettors by withdrawing its ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ offer from 16 racecourses.
Races that take place at Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Ffos Las, Fontwell Park, Great Yarmouth, Hereford, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Royal Windsor, Sedgefield, Southwell, Uttoxeter, Wolverhampton and Worcester will no longer feature the offer.
Best Odds Guaranteed means that if you take a price on a horse and the Starting Price (SP) is bigger, the bookmaker will pay you out at the bigger odds. For Example: If you take a price of 3/1 and the selection wins with an SP of 4/1, you are paid out at 4/1.
But in an email to customers, which has been shared on social media, Paddy Power have now restricted the offer to major racing festivals such as Cheltenham, Aintree, Punchestown and Ascot.
The Irish bookmaker is facing a backlash after dozens of disgruntled racing fans piled into the replies to register their displeasure at the news.
Paddy Power is withdrawing BOG from these tracks.
Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Ffos Las, Fontwell Park, Great Yarmouth, Hereford, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Royal Windsor, Sedgefield, Southwell, Uttoxeter, Wolverhampton and Worcester. pic.twitter.com/Ub86U2dQwJ
— Christian White (@cew1972) August 8, 2022
“Punters will have no protection with the guaranteed odds gone, so they will be completely shafted! Racing needs to go back to the SP been return by on track bookmakers; in the interest of integrity,” tweeted one miffed racing fan.
“Bizarre decision as they withdraw BOG from almost anyone who looks like they know what they’re doing. It will just shift the punters to another bookie. It’s also a marketing nightmare and will result in plenty of angry live chats,” added another.
Another eagled eye Twitter user pointed out that all the racecourses in question are owned and run by the ARC racing and leisure group.
ARC is the largest racecourse operator in the UK. In 2021, ARC Group racecourses hosted more than 570 fixtures.
The group is made up of the following sixteen racecourses: Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Ffos Las, Fontwell Park, Great Yarmouth, Hereford, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Royal Windsor, Sedgefield, Southwell, Uttoxeter, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
