Betting chain Ladbroke Racing has retained Media House
International in Glasgow to handle crisis PR in Scotland.
The account is a new one, and was partly prompted by a string of
negative reports in the national and Scottish press about the
bookmakers.
Ladbrokes was drawn into the political scandal surrounding Glasgow City
Council when it offered hospitality to a member of the council’s Labour
group. James Coleman, convenor of the city’s licensing board, accepted
an invitation from Ladbrokes in September to the Ayr Gold Cup horse
races.
The licensing board is responsible for approving permit applications
from bookmakers, pubs and restaurants. The incident is now being
investigated as part of a Labour Party inquiry into corruption.
Ladbrokes has also suffered negative press coverage recently about a
customer who was not paid pounds 50,000 in winnings because bookmakers
declared that the odds quoted were incorrect.
Ladbrokes has a press and public relations team based in Harrow, which
continues to handle crises south of the border and day-to-day in the UK.
