LONDON – 17th March 2016 – Worldpay, the global leader in payments, is predicting that online bookmakers will experience more than 50% increase in betting transactions this week as British punters get caught up in the excitement surrounding the Cheltenham Festival.

Worldpay’s figures from the 2015 event suggest that bookmakers saw a phenomenal 47% rise in transactions during the four day festival, as racing fans sought to beat the bookies*. The climax of the jump racing season, Gold Cup Day was by far the most popular for punters, with a whopping 57% uplift in the number of bets placed*.

Karl MacGregor, Vice President Gambling, Global eCommerce, at Worldpay said:

“The UK online gambling market generated around £3bn last year**, and with technology continuing to propel the industry forward, we expect these figures to increase significantly as more punters use mobile devices in their attempt to win big.