How Much Money is Bet on Cheltenham Festival? Over £1 Billion Forecast For 2023

Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching with this year’s first race scheduled for Tuesday 14th March, and with the potent mixture of the sport’s growing audience, an influx of new bookmakers and easier access to betting markets, 2023 is forecast to take in the most money from gambling of any edition. With that in mind, we are looking at the typical annual wagering figures and uncovering how much money is bet on Cheltenham Festival every year.

How Much Money is Bet on Cheltenham Festival?

2022’s figures represented a record-setting year for bookmakers, who experienced a 23% increase in betting volumes year-on-year.

For the Gold Cup alone, over £3.5 million was wagered on the week’s main event, where the first female winner Rachel Blackmore would go on to ride the 3/1 favourite A Plus Tard.

Free bets, new customer promotions and enhanced odds are all rolled into the UK’s biggest week for betting, meaning the growth in the total amount wagered should come as no surprise. Last year’s betting volume hit over £1 billion across the four days according to analysts, with half of that total thought to be handled online through desktop and horse racing apps.

Although it is unclear whether this was traded for on-course bets or perhaps a £7.50 pint of Guinness, but nearly £2.5 million is typically withdrawn from cash machines around the course throughout the week.

What is the Forecast For This Year?

It is only logical to assume that 2023’s betting forecast will top last year’s total, and experts have suggested that the final figure could stand at anywhere between £1.2 and £1.5 billion.

Overall, 2022 represented a 53% increase in betting activity, with the average wager from bettors thought to be just over £8.

Despite talks of a one-day extension to the week’s running order on the back of record ticket sale, which would have boosted the betting forecast considerably, there remains 28 Cheltenham races across four days.