There is a growing concern in the United Kingdom over the future of horse racing venues throughout the British Isles. Of course the economy has played a part. People just don’t seem to be betting as much. However, the real concern comes down to some politics. The British Horeseracing Authority, or BHA, is worried that beloved, smaller, local racetracks could be in danger of closing if the British government does not act soon to reform the betting levy on horse racing. Currently there is 10 percent levy, or tax, on all domestic horeseracing gambling bets. The money from the levy goes back into the horeseracing industry. In the past the levy has brought a considerable amount of money to the horeseracing industry. Three years ago £116 million (Over $167.7 million US) was brought in by the levy. Predictions for the current season are closer to £77 million ($111.3 million US). This is well under what the BHA figured it needed to operate as usual.

The BHA has argued that the recent liberalization of online gambling laws has negatively affected their industry. Online gambling companies such as William Hill and Ladbrokes have taken their business overseas where they are not subjected to the levy. The BHA also claims that the government has not fully established its relationship with the horeseracing industry. The rules that prevented a proliferation of online gambling sites have been relaxed. This has allowed close to 60 percent of the bookmakers to fall below the point of having to pay the levy.

“We are at the crunch point and those solutions have to be applied by the government and the levy Board because bookmakers will continue to exploit the loopholes to their maximum advantage, to the detriment of racing,” said BHA Chief Executive Officer, Nic Coward. He has strenuously stated that the online gambling and bookmaking issue needs to be addressed in the coming weeks, or many of the venues will pass the point of recovery.

Tags: casino, gambling, online