Oddschecker: Challenger brands making UK horseracing clickshare strides
Affiliate points to declining clickshare among leading operators, with customers engaging with the likes of PricedUp as small firms get “more price‑aggressive”
Oddschecker has claimed UK challenger brands have “hit their stride” as punters continue to engage with bookmakers outside the traditional ‘Big 7’ for horseracing.
The affiliate said the change had notably occurred in March – with the Cheltenham Festival placed in the middle of the month – but “April saw that behaviour continue ahead of the start of the flat season”.
The so-called ‘Big 7’ includes bet365, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook and Sky Bet.
The FairPlay Sports Media-owned brand also noted customers were engaging with brands outside what it referred to as the “Next 5” – namely, 888sport, Betfred, BOYLE Sports, BetVictor and Unibet.
Oddschecker said: “The ‘Big 7’ recorded their lowest ever horseracing clickshare at 53%, as newer operators and challenger brands ramped up promotional activity and captured more attention.
“Clickshare refers to the share of all betslip clicks on the famous oddschecker horseracing grids.
“The ‘Next 5’ also dipped month on month (‑2.9 percentage points), while ‘Others’ continued their recent rise, gaining 2.3 percentage points year on year as customers broadened their bookmaker mix.”
Oddschecker called out PricedUp and Star Sports as key winners across horseracing, while the grid includes other smaller brands such as BetGoodwin, QuinnBet and Virgin Bet.
Oddschecker added: “PricedUp and Star Sports were among the standout movers, with both challenger brands becoming more price‑aggressive across the month, particularly during the Aintree Festival.”
The trend across the grid comes against the backdrop of tier-one operators such as bet365 and Coral dropping legacy horseracing sponsorships in Q1.
The cutbacks were made in light of remote gaming duty (RGD) jumping from 21% to 40% on 1 April.
Horseracing received a reprieve in the Autumn Budget after not being included in any duty increases, unlike remote general betting duty which will hit 25% next April.
Oddschecker continued: “There is also a case to be made that the ‘Big 7’ decline across March and April reflects the continued de-prioritisation of UK racing within tier-one promotional strategies, with football and other higher‑margin sports taking precedence.
“Racing was, however, spared from the RGD tax rises coming in April 2027, which some operators may view as an opportunity compared with other sports.
“The rise of affordability checks is also contributing to increased share for smaller brands, as bigger operators see customers spreading their funds more widely.
“With plenty of Grade 1 racing still to come, it will be interesting to see whether this trend continues despite wider industry pressures.”
Elsewhere, oddschecker reported that Entain-owned Coral increased its clickshare on the grid by 3.8 percentage points in April versus March, the largest rise among all operators.
William Hill increased its betshare by two percentage points in April, while PricedUp’s acquisition rate increased 57% month on month.
In terms of registration to first-time deposit, the site average across oddschecker was 77%, with Stakemate the best performing at 97%.
Registration across the grid declined 42% month on month, although was up 5% versus April 2025.
BOYLE Sports’ ‘Bet £10 get £40 in Free Bets’ was the best performing offer in April, followed by Betfred’s ‘Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets’.