The remarkable Hollywoodbets story keeps unfolding

This week’s announcement of the Hollywoodbets naming sponsorship of Kenilworth and Durbanville racecourses is the latest step in the bookmaker’s staggeringly fast climb into public awareness.

The company now has its name on four of South Africa’s seven tracks – the other two being Greyville in Durban and Scottsville in Pietermaritzburg. As has been well documented, it plays a key role in funding racing operations in other ways in Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

‘R4 in his pocket’

Yet racing isn’t the only game in town for a business nowadays known as a “sportsbook”, borrowing from the American vernacular. Indeed, most turnover is from betting on other sports, notably football.

The man behind the phenomenon is Owen Heffer, a Durbanite and racing nut from childhood, who started out in 1986 selling form books and tips outside Greyville – “with R4 in his pocket”, as the tale goes.

He called his printed leaflet Winning Form and it lived up to its name by becoming an institution among racegoers.

In 1998, Heffer and partner Suren Rampersadh ventured into bookmaking with a small shop in Argyle Road, near Greyville. With the rapid growth of sports betting in the new millennium, this embryo grew into 86 betting outlets across the country and offshore operations in Mozambique, Ireland and the UK. The key to it all was online and mobile betting know-how and facilities.

Wikipedia informs us Hollywoodbets was ranked at No 8 in the “Top 50 Gaming Sites Worldwide” by iGaming Business Magazine in 2019.

Hollywoodbets is the naming sponsor of the Durban July, Brentford football team in the English Premier League, the KZN Dolphins cricket team, the SAFA Women’s Soccer League, the Cosafa Cup, the Phaka rugby show on Supersport, Kingsmead cricket ground, King’s Park rugby ground, and more.

La Liga

It’s also an official betting partner of Spain’s La Liga soccer, and has an extensive social responsibility programme, MyCommunity, that supports children’s homes, old-age homes, community centres, schools, and more.

Oh, and there is a chain of eight Hollywood Bunny Bars across the country specialising in legendary Durban curry – not only served in bunny chows.

By the by, Hollywoodbets Syndicate has become just about the biggest owner of racehorses in South Africa, with scores of horses spread across more than a dozen trainers.

Commercialism

Old-school types might be averse to the commercialism of naming sponsorship, not to mention the ubiquitous, garish purple and yellow Hollywoodbets branding, but they’d have to admit that the rise from R4 in seed capital has been astonishing – and be grateful for the financial rescue of local racing.

In Wednesday’s announcement, Cape Racing and Hollywoodbets also unveiled an initiative to recognise the critical role played by stable grooms.

“They will now receive a R1,000 cash bonus for every win, paid jointly by both parties. Following the huge success of the Grooms Initiative project in KwaZulu-Natal, focusing on this important sector was an integral component of this partnership.

“Hollywoodbets will also sponsor a work riders’ series, with the goal of promoting and developing future stars. The series will encompass 10 races culminating in a spectacle race against jockeys. In addition to the new naming rights deal, Hollywoodbets will sponsor the final race of each meeting, the Hollywoodbets Bright Future Stakes.”

Greg Bortz, chairman elect of Cape Racing, added: “We are intensely focused on reinvigorating and uplifting this wonderful sport of ours, not just for the racing fans, but for those key employees and stakeholders who are the building blocks underpinning it all. In Hollywoodbets, Cape Racing has found a sponsor and partner with a shared value system and outlook.”

The initiatives kick in on Wednesday 7 September.