Cancelling a day’s racing in the UK is a small but significant move The latest move from the British horse racing industry to cancel an entire day’s racing fixtures next month in protest at their Government’s proposal to change how they tax online betting companies is as intriguing as it is unexpected. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has been spearheading this latest campaign against new tax measures which would see an increase in the percentage of tax the online bookmakers pay on their horse racing products. According to research commissioned by the BHA, bringing taxes on horse racing betting in line with slots and casino gambling, as is proposed by the Government, would have a devastating impact on the sport. 2,752 Jobs At Risk The doomsday scenario the BHA are touting is “forecasting a £330 million revenue hit to the industry in the first five years, and 2,752 jobs at risk in the first year alone.” This forecast presumes that the impact on remote bookmakers’ revenue will be catastrophic, but reading the UK Government’s proposal it appears that is far from their intention. According to the UK Government they are trying to “ensure the taxation of remote gambling is appropriate to the industry, create a tax which reflects the commonalities of remote gambling and simplify the system and reduce administrative burdens.” Consultation Process There has also been a 12 week period of consultation when all interested parties in the reform of remote gambling taxation were encouraged to make contributions. The horse racing industry was involved in that consultation process and I’m sure its representatives made a strong case for leaving the current disparity between the tax rate on horse racing (15%) and slots and casinos (21%) as it is. The online bookies, who are directly in the firing line, have presumably also made similar submissions and explained that in addition to their current Government tax rate on horse racing betting they are also paying a separate 10% Levy to the sport of horse racing. So why has British horse racing decided to throw its toys out of the pram and announce the cancellation of all racing meetings on one day next month? The impact of a blank day’s racing on the Government’s decision making process is likely to be zero. History tells us that the only protests that work are ones that disrupt the economy. Truckers blocking ports, farmers driving tractors into capitol city streets. These are the types of actions that hit Governments hardest. Moving four race meetings to alternative dates in the calendar hurts no one. If British horse racing is intent on changing Government policy on this issue it will most probably need to mobilise its workforce to take part in demonstrations. According to the BHA 85,000 jobs are supported by British racing across the UK, but so far only 10,400 people have signed their #AxeTheRacingTax petition. If there is such apathy within the racing community to this proposed tax it is hard to see many turning up for a rally in Westminster. Industry Wide Awareness So perhaps this blank day’s racing is aimed at the horse racing community rather than the Government. Even the mere announcement of the blank day has moved the dial within the industry. Everyone associated with horse racing in the UK is now aware of the issue. Whether or not that convinces them to row in behind the BHA’s campaign is another thing altogether. The core problem is that this proposed tax is aimed directly at online bookmakers who have been making fortunes off the back of horse racing for years and most people will have no sympathy for them. Linking the bookmakers’ pain back to the ordinary workers within the sport is not straightforward. How do you convince a person shoeing horses in Scotland that if an English billionaire like Denise Coates of bet365 sees her annual dividend drop they will lose their job. If the UK Government decides to ignore submissions from both the horse racing industry and the online bookmakers the new rate of tax on horse racing bets will not come into effect until October 2027 at the earliest, which still gives the sport plenty of time to rally its troops. It is most interesting that the bookmakers themselves were not consulted regarding the cancellation of a day’s racing and their representative body has branded it a futile political gesture that “will only antagonise the Government and frustrate punters.” Of course if this new tax rate on horse racing betting does come in in the UK it will have a knock on effect on the Irish horse racing sector which is similarly dependent on gambling related revenues. There is an evening race meeting scheduled for Cork on the 10th September, the same day that is now blank in the UK next month. I can’t see Horse Racing Ireland postponing that fixture to support the BHA’s initiative. It is probably more likely that they will announce an additional fixture during that afternoon to facilitate the bookies.
