Ascot is a fixture of the national calendar and racing pumps millions into local economies (Image: Getty)
Rachel Reeves has been warned an “attack on racing is an attack on the countryside”. The Chancellor risks wrecking havoc in rural communities if she launches a tax raid which threatens the future of horseracing, campaigners warn.
Proposals to tax online bets on horse races at the same rate as online slots and gaming have triggered cross-party condemnation and appalled the industry.
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It is feared bookmakers will step back from promoting the sport if duty is hiked from 15% to 21%, with devastating consequences for racing in the UK. An industry insider said bookmakers would have an incentive to push customers to software-based “games of chance rather than horse race betting because they’ll just get a better return”. Running a book on horseracing, he said, is “incredibly labour intensive” compared with operating an online casino.
The Countryside Alliance warns the racing sector contributes ￡4.1billion to the economy and supports more than 85,000 jobs – “including farriers, vets, feed suppliers and transport companies”.
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Spokesman Mo Metcalf-Fisher said: “The racing and breeding industry makes a very significant economic and cultural contribution to rural communities and is a social hub for many. An attack on racing is an attack on the countryside and the livelihoods of thousands of people.
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“In reforming gambling legislation, it is vital the Government listens to industry leaders and avoids disproportionately impacting the sector to negligible benefit. It is essential the future of horseracing is secured.”
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Greg Swift of the British Horseracing Authority drew a stark contrast between horseracing and online gaming when it came to problem gambling.
He argued that people who bet on horseracing are likely to be fans of the sport who spend time studying the horses’ form.
“It’s not like online casinos where you’re just pressing a button every three seconds,” he said. “You have time to cool off, you have time to consider your options.”
Warning the Government against damaging racing, he said: “It is a sport which is unique in binding communities together and the Government needs to understand there is real political jeopardy for the Government if they get this wrong.”
Mr Swift said that if racing suffers voters “ particularly in that Red Wall area where you’ve got an awful lot of racecourses” will not “forgive the Government and there will be a reckoning at the ballot box”.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice also voiced concerns, saying: “Our great British racing tradition is under siege. Labour’s reckless tax-and-spend mania threatens to tank this cherished industry, putting jobs and our rural economy at risk.
“Their tax first, think later approach is a direct assault on the heart and soul of Britain.”
Benjamin Elks, grassroots development manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are fed up with nannying politicians interfering in what are often beloved British pastimes.”
He said ministers should focus “on the issues that really matter to the British public like public services and the record tax burden”.
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The recent report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Racing and Bloodstock warns the proposed changes could drive “gamblers to the black market and lead to betting operators promoting more harmful forms of online gambling at the expense of racing”.
A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the huge importance of horseracing to the British sporting calendar and the significant contribution it makes to the economy every year. We have recently launched a consultation on the tax treatment of remote gambling and are actively engaging with the sector, so are grateful to the APPG for their contributions and will consider the report fully.”
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