Ladbrokes Coral ends seven-month row over rights to show racing in betting shops

Ladbrokes Coral has ended a seven-month dispute over broadcast rights that stopped the bookmaker showing live racing from 22 racecourses across the country.

It has struck a deal with The Racing Partnership, which holds the TV rights for such courses as Chepstow, Doncaster, and Uttoxeter.

The agreement means the firms have ended a stalemate, dating back to January, which has barred the bookmaker from showing a full menu of British horse racing at its 3,820 betting shops.

Broker Barclays said the stalemate meant Ladbrokes Coral was showing 23% fewer horse racing fixtures in its shops than rivals, which it thought was "leading to William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair taking retail market share".

Barclays added that customers would either spend time at rival bookmakers or simply not visit Ladbrokes' shops as often.

Ladbrokes and The Racing Partnership had been deadlocked on price, but bookmaker said the new agreed deal is "based purely on a profit-shared model". However, it did not disclose further terms of the agreement.

The new deal means Ladbrokes Coral's 3,820 betting shops across the UK and Ireland will now be able to show races from these sites as well as racing from South Africa, which was included in the agreement. Races will also be streamed on mobile devices shortly.

Ladbrokes Coral chief executive, Jim Mullen, said: "Horse racing is part of our heritage and, despite the vast choice of sports to bet on in the modern era, it remains a core product for our business, so it is a positive development that once again all our customers, in shops and online, can enjoy a full range of horseracing action."