Earlier this week, the trade body of the licensed and regulated gambling industry in the UK revealed that its members made £455 million worth of direct contributions to British horseracing in 2022. According to new figures unveiled by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the aforementioned worth of contributions was granted in media rights, taxes, and sponsorship deals.
Apart from that, the trade organisation revealed that British bookmakers spent £125 million on marketing to popularise racing and betting through partnerships and advertisements, which helped them secure earthbound coverage of the sport. Furthermore, the promotion of betting and racing services has helped local betting businesses raise revenue for print newspaper titles and support two racing channels.
The Betting and Gaming Council revealed that media rights payments alone have increased by approximately £45 million since the previous year, with them being estimated at £340 million in 2022. The result was a significant increase in comparison to initial estimates. Meanwhile, the Horserace Betting Levy Board revealed that levy payments are projected to reach £99 million in 2022/2023 which would mark a £50-million increase from the tax payments registered in 2016/2017.
The new figures mentioned above dwarf previous estimates on the regulated betting and gambling sector’s direct contribution to British horseracing, which had estimated a figure of approximately £350 million on an annual basis. As reported by the BGC, the record investment made by the country’s licensed gambling industry also allowed horseracing to redirect some of these revenues to offer record prize money of £179.3 million last year.
Horseracing Remains the Second-Biggest Sport in the UK, BGC Says
The aforementioned figures are estimates for the 2022 calendar year based on the exact data provided by the largest members of the Betting and Gaming Council, which reportedly account for about 85% of the entire gross gaming yield (GGR) on horserace betting.
For the time being, horseracing is the second-biggest sport in the UK, right behind football, with more than five million people annually attending around 1,400 fixtures across 59 racecourses available throughout the nation.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is expected to review the Horseracing Levy by 2024. The levy, which is currently administered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, is usually spent on bringing some improvements to the sport, horse breeding, and improving veterinary care. Currently, gambling and betting companies in the UK are still collaborating with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and racing stakeholders on much-necessary reforms that are expected to be brought to the horseracing fixture list and race programme that is supposed to boost levy- and media rights-related commercial returns.
The trade body representing the regulated horseracing sector in the UK also revealed that the licensed gambling and betting sector in the country remains fully supportive of the unique chance to have the British horseracing industry modernised so it can unveil its full commercial potential.
- Author
Olivia Cole
