British Horseracing strongly welcomes today鈥檚 announcement from the Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe which seeks to create a more level playing field between British gambling businesses and their overseas counterparts and address the latter鈥檚 lack of Horserace Betting Levy contributions.
British Horseracing Authority Chief Executive Nic Coward said:
鈥淭his is a major development, and one we have been pressing for. It鈥檚 a significant step forward in our case to secure a fair and reasonable return from betting operators.
鈥淲e have been saying for some time that the regulatory status and payment obligation of overseas operators is in urgent need of Government action, and are delighted that Government has listened. The current situation is unjust, and just one example of funding arrangements not keeping pace with the modern gambling environment.
鈥淏ritish Horseracing loses valuable income every year from operators who locate their online and call centre operations offshore. This lost income grows every year. Government of course also loses considerable tax revenue due to the current arrangements, and there are a number of questions surrounding the regulatory regimes covering a number of websites.
鈥淥ur case is well known. We will be making a full contribution to the consultation, and are pleased to see that the findings will be presented to Parliament before the end of 2009. Racing is losing money with each day that this situation remains unaddressed.鈥�
30th April 2009
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
To view the Department for Culture, Media and Sport鈥檚 announcement please go to http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/media_releases/6125.aspx
