The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is demanding a separate tax for horse racing betting amid fears new rates could cost the sport as much as £160 million.
Why Is Betting Tax Harmonisation Harmful For Horse Racing?
In April, the UK government launched a consultation into a proposal to harmonise all online gambling into a single tax to be called remote betting and gaming duty (RBGD).
At the moment, there are two separate duties – a general betting duty that covers activities like racing and pool betting, taxed at 15% of gross profits – and a remote gaming duty which includes casino games like roulette, levied at 21%.
General betting duty is applied in a tiered structure – 15% on fixed-odds bets, 10% on sports spread bets and 3% on financial spread bets.
This is bad news for the world of horse racing as harmonisation would result in a significant increase to the tax rate and UK betting sites would have to withdraw concessions and make prices less competitive in order to maintain their profit margin.
The BHA believe a flat tax rate of 21% would result in online casinos paying an extra £40 million a year in tax on racing betting alone and an increase to 30% would cost £90 million annually.
They also fear taxing racing like other forms of gambling could put the sport’s future at risk, threatening thousands of jobs, rural communities and vital funding for horse welfare.
BHA Launch ‘Axe The Racing Tax’ Campaign In Opposition To Changes
The body has formally called on the Treasury to tax betting on racing at both a different and lower rate to other sectors like UK casino sites, citing the sport’s ‘uniquely symbiotic relationship’ with betting.
The BHA’s Acting Chief Executive, Brant Dunshea said in a statement: “British racing’s stakeholders are united in their opposition to the Treasury’s proposals to harmonise remote gambling duties.
“Horse racing has a uniquely symbiotic relationship with betting and the Government must recognise this. It is why we are calling for betting on racing to be taxed at a different and lower rate to all other forms of betting.”
The submission by the BHA has the backing of all major stakeholders in British racing such as the Jockey Club, Arena Racing Company, Racecourse Association, Racehorse Owners Association and National Trainers Federation.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
