Victor Chandler Bookies

Betvictor is one of the oldest and most respected bookmakers in the industry. Originally known as Victor Chandler, the bookmaker was founded in 1946 and went online in the late nineties. It is licensed both in the UK and Gibraltar, and the sports betting platform is built in-house. Betvictor has a reputation for forming strong partnerships. BetVictor - The Place To Place Bets One of the most exclusive English bookmakers has gone from being a discrete Gentleman Bookmaker to one of the leading independent betting and gaming groups with three luxury betting shops in London, Cork and Dublin in no time. Victor Chandler senior created the company as we know it today back in 1946. Bookie Victor Chandler dating his cousin’s ex-wife. Updated: 19:00 EST, 15 June 2010. Should the Queen happen to encounter the burly figure of bookmaker Victor Chandler in the.

Victor William Chandler (born 18 April 1951) is a British businessman, bookmaker, and former chairman of the company BetVictor, legally Victor Chandler International.^[2][3]

Early life[edit]

He was the son of Victor Chandler Sr, and the grandson of William Chandler, who founded the family's bookmaking business and owned London's Walthamstow Stadium. He inherited a 20% stake in Walthamstow Stadium when his father Victor Sr. died in 1974.^[4]

Off-shore bookmaking[edit]

Victor Chandler is often credited as the first bookmaker to recognise the importance of online gambling, as well as being the first to move his gaming business offshore.

In the early 1990s, Victor began to accept football wagers from far-eastern clients and, in doing so, he recognised the potential growth in foreign markets. He opened up an office in Antigua to enable these clients to bet without the need to pay UK tax.

In the UK, punters were required to pay a 9% betting tax but, in 1996, Chandler obtained a betting licence in Gibraltar and in 1999 moved his entire business there. Over the next decade the company grew quickly and he now employs over 400 people and is the largest private employer on the Rock. Victor Chandler has offered free betting from £5, and in 2001 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced that he was scrapping UK betting tax.^[5]

Horse ownership[edit]

Chandler has owned many racehorses over the past three decades in UK, South Africa & US. Following some success over the years, Chandler formed a syndicate called 'Men in Our Position' which owned the 2009 Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle winner Zaynar, trained by Nicky Henderson. Zaynar re-appeared on 21 November 2009 at Ascot Racecourse where he demolished a top-class field in winning the Coral Ascot Hurdle by 6 lengths as reported by the Racing Post. Zaynar was then aimed at the Champion Hurdle, for which he was one of the Ante-Post favourites for the race. After running a galant race Zaynar finished third in the race.

Personal wealth[edit]

In the 2009 Sunday Times rich list Chandler was ranked 362nd with a fortune estimated at £150 million,^[6] falling from the previous year's estimation of £365 million.^[7]

Lucian Freud friendship[edit]

In an article in the Observer in June 2008 Victor spoke of his friendship with the artist Lucian Freud,^[8] and mentioned the portrait of Victor which Freud completed which was sold for £4.5m in 2006.^[9]

Victor Chandler Bookmakers Online

Nottingham Forest[edit]

In July 2009 Victor Chandler agreed to become the main sponsor of Nottingham Forest F.C.^[10] for a reported 'significant six-figure fee'. As part of his sponsorship he offered to pay for the following year's season tickets for Forest fans who opened an online account should Forest win the league. At the time of the offer Forest were rated as 80/1 outsiders to do this, but after a run of 19 games undefeated, Forest were second in the Championship in January 2010 and Chandler claimed Forest winning the league would cost him approximately £6m.^[11] After a poor March and April Forest's chances of winning the league receded and they instead qualified for the Football League play-offs where they were eliminated by Blackpool at the semi-final stage.

Victor Chandler Bookmakers

References[edit]

1. ^'Many happy returns...'Racing Post. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
2. ^http://midas.picdar.co.uk/cgi-bin/RP?MatchIndex=1&urn=718521033&Random=1288392024&FFAC=WM0000022791&searchid=2
3. ^'VICTOR CHANDLER LIMITED'. Companies House.
4. ^Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN0-7207-1804-X.
5. ^'UK Will Slash Betting Tax'. Tax-news.com. 13 November 2000. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
6. ^Minette Marrin. 'Search the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 Times Online'. London: Business.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
7. ^Goodley, Simon (17 May 2008). 'Victor Chandler: The man who calls the odds – Telegraph'. London: Telegraph<!. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
8. ^Will Buckley (15 June 2008). 'To Victor the spoils Sport The Observer'. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
9. ^'Entertainment Freud portrait could sell for £4m'. BBC News. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
10. ^'BBC SPORT Football My Club N Nottm Forest Forest announce sponsorship deal'. BBC News. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
11. ^'News Latest News Latest News Victor Chandler's Potential £6m Payout'. Nottingham Forest. Retrieved 10 February 2010.

External links[edit]