Charities to receive £1.25m from BGC Royal Ascot initiative

Charities will receive £1.25m from the association’s Royal Ascot Britannia Stakes fundraiser.

UK.- Members of the industry body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) announced that this year they would again donate profits from the Britannia Stakes race at Royal Ascot to the charities Marie Curie, Prostate Cancer UK, three Armed Forces charities and Care Radio.

The BGC announced the initiative raised £1.25m for charities, well above the £250,000 donated following the first Britannia Stakes charity fundraiser last year.

The BGC’s members are Flutter Entertainment, bet365, Kindred, Entain, William Hill, BetVictor, Betway, Rank Group and AnzoGroup, the UK Tote, Fitzdares and Sporting Index. The race Britannia Stakes was won by Peretto, ridden by Oisin Murphy, at 18/1.

BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said: “I am absolutely thrilled by the amount raised by this fantastic initiative at Royal Ascot. This money will make a huge difference to the incredible work done by the charities involved.

“I’d like to thank all the BGC members who took part – as well as their customers who enjoyed a flutter on the race – for their generosity in supporting some really great causes.”

Alastair Warwick, managing director of Ascot Racecourse, said: “We’re delighted that Royal Ascot has once again played a part in raising valuable funds for these deserving charities.

“I know this fantastic initiative from the betting industry is hugely appreciated and the money will be used for some extremely worthwhile causes.”