Tonybet will sponsor the Group 2 Solonaway Stakes at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland for a third consecutive year on 12 September 2026, retaining title rights to a race on the opening day of Irish Champions Festival. The agreement extends the international iGaming operator’s commercial association with Irish Flat racing at a time when gambling companies face closer scrutiny of sports sponsorship, advertising standards and consumer-protection obligations across European markets.
The Tonybet Solonaway Stakes is scheduled as part of Leopardstown’s Saturday programme, which forms the first half of the two-day Irish Champions Festival. The event will continue at The Curragh on 13 September, where the Comer Group International Irish St Leger is among the headline races.
Leopardstown’s card will be led by the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, one of the leading races in the Irish Flat calendar. The opening day is also set to include three Group 1 contests, increasing the value of television exposure and on-course visibility for sponsors attached to the meeting.
For Tonybet, the renewal maintains a presence at a high-profile Irish sporting event without changing the structure of the race or the festival. The operator first attached its name to the Solonaway Stakes in 2024 and has now extended that relationship through the 2026 renewal.
The sponsorship is a commercial arrangement rather than a gambling licence or regulatory approval. However, gambling advertising and sponsorship activity in Ireland is subject to a changing policy environment following the enactment of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which established the framework for a new national gambling regulator and wider controls over gambling services, marketing and consumer safeguards.
The legislation is intended to consolidate regulatory responsibilities for gambling activity in Ireland, including online betting and gaming, and to introduce a licensing structure administered by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. The timing and detailed application of individual advertising and sponsorship requirements will depend on the implementation of the new framework and associated regulatory measures.
Sports partnerships remain an important channel for betting and gaming businesses seeking visibility among adult audiences, particularly in racing, where wagering is closely connected to the sport’s commercial model. At the same time, operators and sporting bodies must manage the compliance risks attached to branding, responsible gambling messaging and the potential exposure of under-18s.
Tonybet said it plans to have a substantial on-site brand presence at Leopardstown during the meeting. The company has also commissioned a trophy for the winning connections of the 2026 Solonaway Stakes. Former Republic of Ireland international footballer Tony Cascarino is expected to present the trophy after the race and take part in a live question-and-answer session during the afternoon.
Cascarino’s involvement adds a sports-media element to the race-day activation, although the principal commercial value of the deal remains the naming rights associated with a Group 2 contest on a major racing weekend. The Solonaway Stakes is staged over one mile and traditionally attracts an established field of high-level Flat performers.
Dmitry Arabuli, chief executive of Tonybet, said the company viewed Irish racing as a significant part of its sports sponsorship activity and cited the profile of Leopardstown’s opening-day programme. He said the operator was looking forward to the 12 September fixture and to its third consecutive sponsorship of the race.
Irish Champions Festival is entering its 13th year in 2026. Organisers expect more than €5 million in total prize money to be available across the Leopardstown and Curragh meetings, with runners, trainers and jockeys from Ireland, Britain and other international racing jurisdictions expected to participate.
The festival has become a key late-season fixture in European Flat racing because it combines elite-level races with a schedule positioned before several major autumn meetings. Its format also gives sponsors access to a large racing audience, including attendees, broadcast viewers and customers engaging with wagering markets around the race programme.
The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is central to that commercial appeal. The race has historically attracted prominent middle-distance horses and is viewed as an important international contest within the European racing calendar. A sponsorship attached to an earlier race on the same card benefits from the wider attention generated by the Group 1 programme, even where the sponsored contest itself is not the day’s principal feature.
For racing authorities and racecourses, such agreements provide an additional source of commercial funding alongside media rights, admissions, hospitality, prize-money contributions and other partnerships. Sponsorship revenues can support race-day presentation and help maintain the financial profile of fixtures, although they can also place organisers under pressure to ensure partners comply with evolving advertising rules.
The Irish market is particularly relevant because racing and betting have long had an interconnected economic relationship. Licensed bookmakers offer betting on domestic and international horse racing, while racecourses depend on a mixture of racing-sector income, public attendance and commercial partnerships. That relationship does not remove the need for controls on how gambling brands communicate with consumers, especially as Ireland moves towards a more formalised regulatory regime.
The Gambling Regulation Act established a basis for strengthened consumer-protection measures, including provisions directed at advertising, inducements and safer gambling. While the full operational framework is still being developed, operators seeking market access will need to adapt to licensing conditions and regulatory guidance as they take effect.
That transition creates a degree of uncertainty for sponsorship arrangements extending beyond the immediate term. Existing commercial partnerships may need to be assessed against future codes governing prominence, content, placement and audience targeting. Racecourses, broadcasters and operators could also face additional documentation and due-diligence demands as the regulator develops its approach.
There is no indication that Tonybet’s 2026 Solonaway Stakes sponsorship has been challenged by regulators or that the arrangement falls outside applicable rules. Nonetheless, the wider direction of policy means gambling-linked sports sponsorship is likely to receive continued attention from lawmakers, consumer groups and compliance teams.
The commercial impact of the renewal will depend partly on the level of attendance and the strength of the race fields in September. Sponsorship exposure at major race meetings is influenced by broadcast distribution, media coverage and betting interest, all of which can vary according to the horses entered and prevailing market conditions.
Competition for visibility within racing is also substantial. Major meetings generally feature a range of commercial partners, while bookmakers and gaming brands must balance sporting sponsorship with investment in digital acquisition, customer retention and regulatory compliance. In a regulated environment, a prominent event partnership does not by itself determine an operator’s market position.
For customers, the most visible consequence of the deal will be the Tonybet branding around the Solonaway Stakes and associated race-day activity. The underlying betting products available to Irish consumers remain subject to applicable laws, operator terms and responsible gambling controls. The sponsorship does not itself alter betting rules, race conditions or the regulatory status of gambling services.
Irish Champions Festival will begin at Leopardstown on Saturday, 12 September 2026, with the Tonybet Solonaway Stakes included on the opening-day schedule. The event will move to The Curragh the following day, and the market will watch for final race entries, festival attendance figures and further guidance on the implementation of Ireland’s gambling licensing and advertising regime.
Sarah Thompson is an editorial byline used by Casino No Deposits for industry news coverage. Articles published under this byline are summarised from reporting by licensed gambling industry news sources and produced with AI assistance, then published against our editorial rules on accuracy, sourcing and tone. They are not first-hand reporting and do not contain personal player accounts. Our full process, including how bonus listings and ratings are maintained separately by our team, is documented in how we review casinos: https://casinonodeposits.com/how-we-review-casinos/
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