The former Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Board has joined Betfair as a Managing Director. He will be working to expand the betting exchange\’s relationships with horseracing regulators and sporting governing bodies around the world.
Nichols commented: “The company has always impressed me with its commitment to innovation and customer service, and its ambitious commercial strategy is immensely exciting.”
In separate news, Peter Jones, Chairman of the Tote, proposed to franchise the state-owned pool betting firm. Jones told the Telegraph that privatizing the Tote is a bad idea. “It would be bad for racing and would only benefit bookmakers,” he said.
“If we kept the Tote for the benefits of racing and sold it to a consortium of, say, owners, trainers, race-courses, even other interested parties, we could offer it in countries where there are no bookmakers – the United States, France, South Africa, the Far East,” Jones explained.
Elsewhere, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has elected John C C Chan as Chairman for 2006/07 and David Eldon as Deputy Chairman.
Magna Entertainment completed its acquisition of AmTote International, a leading provider of totalisator services to the North American pari-mutuel industry with service contracts for over 70 North American racetracks. “Acquiring the remaining interest in AmTote represents a unique opportunity. We feel that significant synergies will be available due to the combination of MEC\’s racetrack operational expertise with AmTote\’s specialized knowledge of totalisator activities,” commented Frank Stronach, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Magna Entertainment.
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