The body that represents the current holders of a trainer’s licence under the British Horse Racing Rules of Racing has warned that intrusive affordability checks could have a potentially “catastrophic” effect on the UK racing industry.
Paul Johnson, the chief executive officer of the National Trainers Federation (NTF), shared that British punters have been brought into a state of confusion as a result of some poorly-targeted measures that have already been taking a huge financial toll on the sector.
As Casino Guardian already reported, so-called affordability checks are expected to be among the proposals that are set to be included in the white paper that is to be unveiled as part of the UK Government’s gambling review. Although such a measure has not been officially enacted yet, an increasing number of British punters have already been asked to provide their source of income by presenting bank statements, P60s and tax returns, in order to be allowed to place bets.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), which currently regulates the country’s gambling sector and issues the licences for companies willing to offer casino, gambling and betting services across the UK, has instructed local bookmakers that they are required to carry out special customer interaction that includes affordability checks. The measure, however, has been called “offensive” and many punters seem to have been gravitating toward the black market due to the intrusive nature of the checks.
Affordability Checks on £100 Net Monthly Loss Could Cost British Racing between £60 Million and £100 Million
For the time being, there has not been any clarity over the timing when operators are supposed to get involved in the process, which often leads to affordability checks being triggered at different levels of the betting process. On the other hand, the British racing industry is already feeling the negative financial impact of the checks. According to Martin Cruddace, the CEO of Arena Racing Company, the digital betting turnover on British racing suffered £800 million decline in the previous year, which eventually cost the sport about £40 million in income that is usually generated by local bookmakers.
The CEO of the National Trainers Federation shared that the organisation supported the measures aimed at tackling problem gambling and gambling-related harm but remained extremely concerned about the direction that the new measures are taking. Mr Johnson explained that the NTF believed that the interventions that are already being made by the UKGC could cost tens of millions to the British racing sector every year. What is worse, he claims that many individuals who have been gambling safely, have been hit by poorly-targetted measures that could have “potentially catastrophic impacts” for many of the businesses dependent on the sport.
The National Trainers Federation had been working with the British Horseracing Association and other industry stakeholders to comply with the representation requirements of the Government regarding its still-ongoing review of the country’s Gambling Act. According to Mr Johnson, so far, this had worked well for all parties and Government officials seemed to have been taking into account the potential effects that stricter measures could have on the racing sector’s finances if the measures are not effectively targetted.
The income generated by local bookmakers has been one of the main revenue streams for British racing. According to a 2019 estimate, the annual income from betting via the levy and media rights has been estimated at a total of £262 million.
Some campaigners have unveiled a proposal that affordability checks should be imposed at a level as low as a £100 net monthly loss. If the Government decides to implement such a measure, the cap is expected to result in an annual revenue loss of between £60 million and £100 million. Government officials, however, have shared that British lawmakers plan to implement proportionate affordability checks.
- Author
Daniel Williams
