Jennings Bet CEO Strikes Defiant Tone Over UK Retail Betting

The UK retail betting arena is far from finished, and it remains viable for carrying out business. Those are the thoughts of Jennings Bet CEO and owner Greg Knight, who was eager to strike an upbeat tone.

Although the UK government kept the 15% general betting duty rate placed on sports betting wagers at land-based settings, many operators have taken drastic measures and announced widespread shop closures. This includes William Hill, who revealed they would be shutting down 270 venues across the UK, while BoyleSports are open to selling off their entire retail estate.

Jennings Bet masking retail betting slump

Unlike many of its competitors, Jennings Bet retreated from online betting, focusing its efforts on expanding its retail empire instead. Knight admitted digital betting was more of a “struggle” for the company, but the most recent statistics posted by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) presented a rather unedifying picture of the state of retail wagering.

Data published for Q3 of last year showed a drop-off in in-person betting. Gross gambling yield (GGY) fell by 7% to £549 million, and the total number of wagers placed at betting premises declined by 1% to £3 billion.

Although duty costs have jumped for some operators due to the hike in gambling taxes, Knight admits Jennings Bet isn't wavering from their retail betting investment strategy. Despite conceding that the odd legacy shop has closed, he thinks their investment model can be more impactful.

He said:

“The key to it, for me, which we’ve always done, is invest. Some of the competition is really struggling at the moment, but that’s where we differ because we’re opening shops in the right location. We haven’t got many legacy shops that have fallen by the wayside; we do shut shops occasionally, but investing is where we’re different.”

Plotting its own path

In many respects, Jennings Bet’s approach is bucking a worrying trend that has enveloped the industry. Since 2021, Jennings Bet has doubled its retail empire, and that has largely been through acquisitions. More specifically, the company acquired two established UK chains — Mark Jarvis bookmakers and Megabet, formerly Stan James.

Jennings Bet recently announced it had surpassed the 200 mark for retail branches, claiming it had opened more premises in the past five years than any other UK bookmaker. To be more precise, Jennings Bet now has 212 shops on its books after unveiling venues in a further eight locations, suggesting their strategy is paying off.

A recipe for success?

While there appears to be plenty of doom and gloom pervading the retail betting industry, Knight remains steadfast in his approach. Indeed, he thinks Jennings Bet has all the core ingredients to ride out the storm and continue to grow in the long term.

He added:

“We’ve got a good recipe. Modern shops, investment, staff training and customer engagement. We’re just going to keep using it and see where it gets us. It works, so we’re just going to carry on using it and see where it gets us.

“With over 200 shops, we’ve proven that we’re more than sustainable. I don’t think retail betting is a diminishing business and we’ve proven that for long enough.”

Although Jennings Bet is resolutely sticking to its methods and appears, for the meantime at least, to be immune to the tax rises rippling through the industry, it will be fascinating to see where its journey takes them. Ultimately, only time will tell.