BetVictor

The company was founded by William Chandler who owned Walthamstow Stadium, a greyhound racing track in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in East London, which he opened in 1931.[1] After the death of William Chandler in 1946, the bookmaking business passed to Victor Sr. and Jack. Victor Sr. died suddenly in 1974 and the business passed to Victor Jr., who at the time was working in the hotel industry in Spain.

In 1998, the headquarters was moved to Gibraltar to avoid UK gambling tax.[2] It has been argued this was a cause for Gordon Brown abolishing gambling tax in his 2001 budget.[3]

In 2004, the company was rebranded "VC Bet". Then in late 2008, Chandler chose to revert the name to "Victor Chandler".[4] In 2012, the company rebranded itself again as BetVictor to ensure consistency and recognition across all international markets.[5] In May 2014, businessman and major shareholder of Victor Chandler International, Michael Tabor took over the company.[6]

In September 2021, BetVictor announced its partnership with Quantum Metric. The deal provided BetVictor the ability to use users collected data in order to evolve and develop consumer-centric products.[7]

BetVictor has sponsored several sporting events over the years, most notably the grade 1 listed Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot Racecourse. The company has also sponsored the Welsh Open snooker, the World Matchplay darts, and Fulham F.C.[8]

Horse Racing

The Clarence House Chase, a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain, was sponsored by BetVictor (then Victor Chandler) from its inauguration in 1989 to 2013.

BetVictor sponsored a second Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase, the Queen Mother Champion Chase which is run at the Cheltenham Festival, in 2014.

Other notable sponsorships include the BetVictor Gold Cup at the Cheltenham November meeting from 2016–2019,[9] the BetVictor Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in 2018,[10] and a multi-fixture partnership with Newbury Racecourse consisting of 41 individual races in 2021–2022 which includes sponsorship of the Greatwood Gold Cup on behalf of Greatwood, a charity for the welfare of retired horses.[11]

In February 2022 BetVictor faced a £2 million (€2.4/$2.7 million) regulatory action after the UK Gambling Commission investigation revealed fairness, social responsibility, and anti-money laundering failures.[12] The operator will pay the money as part of a settlement with the Commission, and the settlement money will go to the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.[13]