Bookmaker calls for tax rethink ahead of racing strike action

Bookmakers have urged the Government to rethink its betting tax proposals as the sport prepares to strike on September 10.

Fixtures at Carlisle, Uttoxeter, Lingfield and Kempton will not take place after the British Horseracing Authority and the track’s owners agreed to strike, making it the first time the sport has voluntarily refused to race in modern history.

The action is in response to proposals to replace the existing three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single tax, with fears the current 15 per cent duty on racing could be increased to the 21 per cent levied on games of chance.

Sebastian Butterworth, director of racing strategy at Flutter UKI, the parent company of Paddy Power and Sky Bet, believes that any gambling tax rise will impact the future funding of racing.

He said: “Any increase in gambling tax will have a profound effect on funding for racing – be that a rise in betting duty or a tax raid on people who play games like online bingo and poker.

“We are already having to reconsider certain investments in UK racing and we urge the Government to reconsider.”

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We are consulting on bringing the treatment of online betting in line with other forms of online gambling to cut down bureaucracy – it is not about increasing or decreasing rates, and we welcome views from all stakeholders including businesses, trade bodies, the third sector and individuals.”