IT’S intriguing to hear that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) are trying to mobilise all British racing stakeholders, including punters, to support their campaign to “Axe The Racing Tax”, providing those who wish to do so with an online portal which enables them to lobby their MPs. Those who don’t want to see gambling on horse racing to be subject to a significant rise in tax rate (from the current 15% to an eye-watering 21%, in line with casino operators) would be well-advised to join the protest, although it may not come easy for those punters who feel that the sport tends to treat bettors as little more than a nuisance at the best of times, making this appeal feel like a temporary volte-face. “Yes, you need me now”, some of us may think. “But you’d still think twice about shaking my hand for fear you’ll catch something.”

It’s no surprise that many punters feel this way, but stricter taxation is bad news for the sport, bookmakers and punters alike. It makes sense to put aside the differences to maintain the status quo on gambling taxation, with the BHA’s number-crunchers calculating that a new tax regime will impact significantly on racing’s income, with a suggested loss of £66m should the higher rate be applied to racing and other sports.

Big burden

Betting operators will not suck up the extra taxation, and the bottom line is that the extra burden will be left at the feet of punters and racegoers, with less money spent by bookmakers on bonuses, marketing and sponsorship.

The BHA is also concerned that punters will increasingly turn to the unregulated betting black market, with that money disappearing from the regulated betting ecosystem, which will hurt the levy putting extra pressure on prize money, already squeezed to the point that the pips squeak, to coin a phrase.

Stripping the racing economy of that sort of money would, we are reminded by those in charge, “Put thousands of jobs at risk and severely impact towns and rural communities across the country. It would also hamper British racing’s world-leading work on equine welfare”. In this regard, the BHA are aware how much British horse racing relies on betting turnover to benefit the entire racing ecosystem, and it would do them no harm to remember how that ecosystem operates when viewing bettors all the time. Racing faces significant issues in terms of the value it offers to owners, and it is important that those who invest in the sport get a better return for their outlay, but as I have said before, owners and punters are not enemies, and what is good for the punter ends up being good for owners by extension.

The impact of betting restrictions and affordability checks act to depress betting turnover, and depressing betting turnover strangles betting profits which are largely responsible for prize money. Improving racing by focusing on bettors is not only of benefit to punters, but to the sport as a whole, including those who benefit from increased prize money.

The real worry for racing is that punters don’t need the sport as much as they did half a century ago, with so many other outlets for betting, bettors don’t need ADWs, tracks, horses, horse owners or horse breeders.

They can bet on what they want and with whom they want, including those so-called black-market options and, if they do tend to move away from betting via traditional methods and operators, then that turnover is in danger of being lost entirely to the sport, a growing concern in an era when punters have greater choice than ever before.

Horse racing is still the most attractive sport for people to bet on, with the concept relying on the magnificent but entirely inscrutable thoroughbred, and it’s hugely important that the horse continues to be racing’s big selling point, albeit one often forgotten, even by those who promote betting on the sport.

Encouraging participation

Punters don’t need to have the same commitment to the sport that owners do, but they still provide the most direct source of income for owners who need to recoup more of their investment via prize money in order to encourage their continued participation, so encouraging the participation of the first group is essential to the retention of the second. It also follows that a loss of owners will mean a loss of horses and so on through the ecosystem, so the continued treatment of the betting public as if they are not contributing to the sport is fraught with danger.

It may be true that the contribution made by bettors is largely unintended (we’d all love to win, wouldn’t we), but the reality is that it is hugely significant, and it is the punters who support the “Axe The Racing Tax” initiative who will make the difference.

They should be cherished as the diverse and complex group that they are, and racing’s betting offering needs to be designed to instill the confidence that bettors need in order to invest.

Doing so will stimulate betting growth when it is in danger of stagnation, while continuing to take punters as a group for granted will see them increasingly marginalised, with potentially devastating consequences. Racing should remember that of all those who contribute to racing’s coffers, the punter will find it easiest to walk away.