Horseracing followers face money whipping after new tax raid plans on betting have been ‘leaked’
A civil service bungle has seen documents mistakenly published online showing the Government plans to raise licence fees for bookies by up to 30%, which would cost them £8m annually
Racing fans are facing a new tax raid(Image: PA)
Racing fans face another cash whipping after Government plans to launch a new tax raid on betting were leaked in a civil service bungle.
Documents mistakenly published online showed Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy plans to raise licence fees for bookmakers by as much as 30%. That would cost them £8m-a-year. Experts warned bookies could try to pass it onto customers by offering worse odds and fewer free bets.
The new cash grab comes just two months after Chancellor Rachel Reeves hammered bookies in her Budget. She nearly doubled tax on online casinos from 21% to 40% and whacked up general betting duty on sports other than horseracing from 15% to 25%.
Reeves spared racing from a direct betting tax hike thanks to a Daily Star campaign to save the sports of kings. We joined racing’s first ever strike of jockeys, owners and trainers as industry experts warned an increase would cost 40,000 jobs and threaten the future of the 500-year-old sport.
The campaign paid off and the Treasury left racing betting tax rates untouched recognising it ‘is part of the cultural fabric of the country’.
But turf fans will still feel the impact of Reeves’ other tax hikes on bookies when they land in April. And now Nandy is plotting a new money raid.
Her Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – aka DCMS – briefly published a consultation on proposed increases to fees licenced bookies must pay to its licenced regulator the Gambling Commission. The Government agrees with the commission’s call for a 30% rise – 10% of which it says will be deployed to tackle black market gambling.
Another option under consideration is a 20% rise.
Officials will seek views on the planned hike which would come into force in October. The new levy increase is likely to impact the entire gambling industry – including racing.
If bookies already reeling from the Budget-battering take another hit, customers – including racing fans – are likely to suffer. Odds will be slashed giving folk less reward for their skills in picking winners.
Punters will be pushed towards gambling with illegal black market operators that pay no tax and have no anti-addiction safeguards. That could mean licensed betting shop closures and ultimately less cash invested in the industry to support horse welfare and the future of racecourses.
The new proposals were initially taken down and replaced with a statement saying they were published in error. But they have since been republished sparking fury across Britain’s gambling sector.
A Betting and Gaming Council spokesman said the plans would ‘add a further significant cost burden on licenced operators at a time when the sector is already absorbing major tax rises’. They added: “Even on the Government’s own figures the maximum option has a full-year effect of an additional £8.7m in fees.
“We support robust action to tackle the harmful black market. But ministers and the Gambling Commission must ensure any increase is proportionate, transparent and delivers clear value for money.”
The Gambling Commission currently takes in £26.3m-a-year in fees. This total would rise to just below £35m under the proposed 30% increase.
Evoke, which owns 888 and William Hill, said it had begun to close stores that are no longer sustainable in a cost-cutting measure. Bosses are weighing up a sale of all or part of the business in response to the tax rises. Shares in Evoke dropped up to 10% following the update.
Officials claim higher gambling licence fees are needed to help pay for the regulator’s work to target the black market and implement new safety reforms.
The Gambling Commission has racked up successive annual losses and burnt through its reserves which look set to be completely exhausted next year. Without an uplift it expects a £9.5m deficit by the end of the decade.
Government officials said the amount made by UK gambling companies has risen from £9.1bn to £13.4bn since 2021 when the fee was last reviewed.
DCMS admitted any increase to fees would compound the impact of looming tax rises. But officials said the proposed changes represented a ‘very small proportion’ of the industry’s takings. They also plan to remove the need for the Secretary of State to push through future fee increases via legislation.
Instead the Gambling Commission will be able to consult on and enforce its own fee changes similar to other regulators such as Ofcom and the Financial Conduct Authority.
DCMS had not responded to a request for comment.
