Betfair Offering South African Horseracing

British online betting exchange operator Betfair has announced that its two million customers are now able to bet into South African tote pools and watch live streams of horseracing following a deal with Phumelela Gold Enterprises.

London-based Betfair revealed that tote bets on South African horseracing taken on its platform would be channelled into totalisator pools hosted on Phumelela’s Amtote betting system in Johannesburg.

“This deal further underlines our commitment to the support of international racing,” said Steven Johnson, Head Of Horseracing Business Development for Betfair.

“We now have tote betting on our site in four jurisdictions, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and the UK, and this partnership will send money back into South African racing both from our exchange and the tote product.”

Phumelela is a joint venture between South African horseracing and tote betting operators Phumelela Gaming And Leisure Limited and Gold Circle Party Limited that schedules the fixtures for the nation’s racecourses. The business also owns the country’s domestic and international horseracing broadcast rights alongside Tellytrack, South Africa's national horseracing television channel.

“The future of tote betting lies in the online environment and Betfair is a significant player in this market,” said Rian Du Plessis, Chief Executive Officer for Phumelela Gaming And Leisure.

“Betfair is an extremely progressive operation. This matches our ambitions and, consequently, we are examining other areas of cooperation.”