Racing fans urged to write to their MP over affordability checks

Racecourse Media Group, parent company of Racing TV, is getting behind British racing’s ‘Save Our Bets’ campaign, which urges racing fans to write to their local MPs to pressure Government to pause affordability checks.

A new online portal has launched – targeted at racing fans who like to have a bet – which enables them to write to their MP by simply inserting their name and address to a template letter which is then automatically sent to the MP. The portal also provides a postcode search function to identify their local MP.

The template letter cites a 2021 Gambling Commission survey which found that 66% of punters said they would not feel comfortable about betting operators using credit reference data. It also refers to a YouGov poll from just last month which found that two thirds of punters would be unwilling to provide documents to continue betting.

The Gambling Commission is expected to sign off the implementation of affordability checks – as proposed in the 2023 Gambling White Paper and which have been subject to a pilot since 2024 – next month. It is understood that the pilot has shown that the checks in their current format are not fully frictionless, meaning that many racing bettors will continue to be asked to provide documents to prove they can afford to bet.

With growing evidence that illegal betting is rising rapidly in the UK, racing bettors are among those being ruthlessly targeted by offshore gambling sites. Implementing an unsatisfactory regime of affordability checks to the legal betting market at this time will only drive punters further towards the illegal market. This will not only put bettors at increased risk of harm but will deprive British racing of the funding it needs to remain a sustainable and internationally competitive sport. It will also deprive the Treasury of vital tax revenue.

It is hoped that by alerting MPs across the country to the unintended consequences of a well-meaning policy will help put pressure on the Government and Gambling Commission to rethink their approach.