How did UK bookmakers websites fare during Grand National?

Silicon.co.uk reports a lack-lustre website performance in terms of speed from major UK bookmakers’ websites in the days leading up to and during the Grand National, arguably one of the biggest horse racing events on the calendar.

Quoting analysis from digital performance intelligence firm Catchpoint, the report identifies a below-par performance from big names including Ladbrokes, SkyBet, bet365 and Paddy Power.

Gamebookers earned the unenviable title of the slowest load time of eight seconds, while Blue Square came out tops with a stellar 1.2 seconds.

According to CatchPoint, in the lead up to the event, web pages took on average four seconds to load to a point where punters could place their bets, with performance affected by the large volumes of data and complex applications.

“Online betting websites usually have complex technical platforms that include in-house and third-party software to serve the highly dynamic websites especially at time-sensitive events like horse races,” Robert Castley, senior performance engineer at Catchpoint, said.

“The Grand National is perhaps one of the most popular events for betting and is an example of where gaming sites must cope with extraordinary surges of traffic. So, keeping your site up and running and performing well at all times on the high-stakes race day is at the heart of whether your online betting business flourishes”.

Castley pointed out loading speeds took considerably longer than the UK’s digital consumer economy deems acceptable, and trusts the industry will take note to ensure a faster digital Grand National next year.

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