海角大神 (BHA) today reacted with dismay to news that another betting operator is to move its remote betting operation overseas. William Hill鈥檚 decision to relocate its UK based telephone operations to Gibraltar will see horseracing Levy payments fall by between 拢2m and 拢3m a year. This is on top of a fall in levy income of over a third, from 拢115m to 拢75m in the last two years.
The Levy underpins the social, economic and cultural contribution that Racing makes to the country through investment in activity including integrity services, veterinary welfare, training programmes and its financial underpinning of the sport鈥檚 infrastructure of owners, trainers, jockeys and the sixty courses across Britain that give racing its unique reach.
One of the major reasons for this is that betting operators are moving their online and telephone operations overseas to avoid the legal requirement established more than forty years ago by Parliament to pay a fair return to horseracing.
Nic Coward, BHA Chief Executive, said:
鈥淭oday鈥檚 news is another major blow for racing and reiterates that urgent Government action is needed to safeguard the future of our sport. It is hardly surprising that betting operators should look to take advantage of a lax regulatory regime to further increase their profits at the expense of British racing and British jobs.
鈥淏ritish Racing needs the new Government to take urgent action to amend the flawed regime they inherited.
鈥淭he solution to this issue lies in Government introducing new regulatory arrangements for overseas operators that will see them comply with similar standards to those licensed in the UK, including paying Levy. 聽The Levy Board has confirmed to Government that there are no barriers to Levy collection being part of new these proposed new licensing arrangements.
鈥淭he BHA will be seeking urgent talks with the Government to address this situation.鈥�
