This year’s Grand National proved to be another commercial success for the UK’s bookmakers, as Entain detailed that it had taken a ‘record-breaking’ number of wagers. 

The Ladbrokes and Coral operator reported that over 12.75 million bets were placed during the three days of the Grand National festival at Aintree racecourse, a substantial increase on the last fixture in 2019. 

This success was partly attributed by the company to the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, as customers could once again bet via both retail and digital verticals – something they had been unable to do in 2021, whilst in 2020 a virtual event was showcased. 

Dom Grounsell, Deputy Director of Digital at Entain, said: “We were delighted to see the Grand National returning in all its glory with a huge crowd to cheer on the runners and riders. 

“We pulled out all the stops to add to the moments of excitement for our customers across all our brands, apps and shops, and we were the only major operator to provide uninterrupted service from our platform and our customer support teams.”

On the headline day on Saturday, a total of 4.1 million bets were placed across Entain’s channels – a 72% increase on 2021 – with over 20,000 bets per minute placed online in the run up to the ‘biggest 10 minutes of the year in the horse racing calender’, whilst a combined customer-base of 538,000 wagered on the event via the Ladbrokes and Coral websites. 

Many of the firm’s customers, however, also experienced a successful Grand National by backing the ultimate winner, 50/1 runner Noble Yeats, with 65,000 bets placed on the outsider using the group’s brands. 

“The magical ending to the race reinforced that there is no event quite like the Grand National to generate passion and interest among our horse racing fans,” Grounsell added. 

“Whether it’s in-person or online, Entain is committed to transforming horse racing to make the sport even more exciting for our customers.”

Entain’s figures suggest a strong turnover across the betting industry on this year’s Grand National, building on similarly successful trading last year, which saw a number of operators and platform providers report a strong uptake in bets placed and takings. 

The 2021 Grand National contributed to an overall increase in online sportsbook bettor numbers in April of that year to 6.7 million, pushing the total of online gambling players to 12.6 million at the close of the month, whilst online GGY rose by 3% from March to £560 million.