Victor Chandler International

BetVictor, formerly under the umbrella of Victor Chandler International Limited, is now legally BetVictor Limited. It continues to trade as an independent bookmaker under the brand name, BetVictor. Having initially specialised in online sports betting, the company now incorporates online casino and poker. The company was originally named after its former chairman, Victor Chandler, before a rebrand to BetVictor, as this name carried across multiple international territories much easier. Betvictor is now owned by successful business man and racehorse owner Michael Tabor, keeping its operational headquarters in Gibraltar.

History

The company was founded in 1946 by Chandler's grandfather, William Chandler, after several years ownership of Walthamstow Stadium. William Chandler was succeeded by Victor's father, also named Victor. Victor Sr. died suddenly in 1974 and the business passed over to Victor Jr., who at the time was working in the hotel industry in Spain. Shortly after assuming control of the family business, Chandler lost one of the business' integral assets; prime racecourse pitches and began concentrating on other aspects of developing his firm, namely credit betting through laying bets to high rolling businessmen in the Far East. The company now claims to turn over in excess of £1billion and have over a half a million customers in more than 160 different countries.^[1]

In May 2014 successful business man and major shareholder of Victor Chandler International, Michael Tabor assumed a 100% control of the company after Victor Chandler sold his interest in the firm.

Off-shore bookmaking & Gibraltar

With the knowledge accrued from catering to customers in foreign climes, Chandler sought the answer to offering a duty-free service to his customers and in 1998 took the historic step of taking his entire business off-shore to avoid UK gambling tax. His move to the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar ^[2] led to other bookmaking firms Ladbrokes and Stan James following Chandler in setting up businesses in the small peninsula. Victor Chandler is seen as responsible for Gordon Brown abolishing gambling tax in his 2001 budget.^[3]
Following Chandler's move, the doors were opened to Gibraltar becoming a worldwide hub for online gaming with numerous sportsbook, casino and poker licenses awarded to most of the world's largest gaming firms. In 2004, the company was renamed 'VC Bet' for branding reasons although in late 2008 Chandler himself chose to revert the name to 'Victor Chandler'.^[4] In 2012, the company renamed itself again as BetVictor. The company is also a member of the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association^[5]

Sponsorship

BetVictor has sponsored several sporting events over the years, most notably the grade 1 listed Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot racecourse. The Victor Chandler Chase became, for many , a yardstick for one of the Cheltenham Festival's showpiece events, the Queen Mother Champion Chase. In 2013 BetVictor became the sponsor for the Welsh Open snooker and the World Matchplay Darts, both of which continued into 2014, with the addition of the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

In 2014 another notable sponsorship deal for BetVictor was signing Michael Owen as Brand Ambassador on a three year deal.

In 2004 and 2005 Victor Chandler International ran a televised poker tournament called the Victor Chandler Poker Cup which became established as one of the richest events on the circuit. With £250,000 to the tournament's first winner, Harry Demetriou and then £200,000 won in its second year by Tony Bloom, the competition attracted well known professionals from all over the world. Combine that with celebrity appearances from John McCririck, Teddy Sheringham, Ken Doherty and EastEnders' actor Michael Greco, the event commanded substantial viewing figures from the seven hour-long programmes shown on Sky Sports 2.^[6]

References