GBGB Managing Director Mark Bird has confirmed that he is in discussions with Betfair in relation to the betting exchange making contributions to the British Greyhound Racing Fund writes Floyd Amphlett.

He said: “I am pleased that Betfair are prepared to engage concerning their contributions to the Fund. Obviously these are very early days but I hope we can make progress on the current impasse.

“We are due to speak to Skybet next week. Since they appear to have similar concerns to Betfair, I would hope we could find a solution that both companies could embrace. ”

The Star understands that Betfair may be prepared to explore alternative means for verifying liabilities for the voluntary payments. One possibility is to assume the model used in horse racing whereby companies pay on their projected turnover which is balanced out following an audit at the end of the year.

Carl Harris, who heads the ‘Pay Up’ pressure group said: “We are delighted to hear that Betfair are engaging in dialogue with GBGB and as a gesture of good faith, we are temporarily suspending the ‘Pay Up’ campaign in the anticipation of a successful outcome.”