Affordability checks turning punters off racing in huge numbers
Less money was bet online on British horseracing in the year between March 2023 and 2024, with a precipitous drop in actual terms and when measured against inflation since affordability checks began blighting punters in 2021.
Turnover – the amount of money bet with licensed, regulated firms overseen by the Gambling Commission – was £8.73 billion for 2023-24, down from £9.11bn in 2022-23 and from £10bn in 2021-22, equivalent to a drop-off in that period of 16.3 per cent.
But the picture is even worse than that as those numbers do not take into account inflation during the same spell. If turnover had increased at the same rate as inflation, for 2023-24 it would have been £11.36bn, rather than £8.73bn. As such, turnover has in-effect plummeted by just under £3bn in the last three years, or a startling 26 per cent.
To make matters worse, statistics published by the BHA last month for the first nine months of 2024 showed that betting has continued to decline.
Punters hit as bookmakers prop up profits
The levy, a statutory tax paid by bookmakers, is a major funding stream for racing, with the sport receiving ten per cent of bookmaker profits (known as gross gambling yield) from betting firms.
On the face of it, GGY has increased in the last 12 months with betting operators making £77.1 million on horseracing, up from £73.4m in 2021-22.
Again, these figures are deceptive as while profit has increased, it should in fact have reached £83.4m in the latest results if keeping pace with inflation. The drop-off is not as stark as raw turnover partly because bookmakers have increased their margins by withdrawing punter concessions, such as best odds guaranteed and extra places.
Other sports fare better than racing – and casino games flourish
Racing has fared worse than nearly every other major sport in terms of betting turnover in the last year, in no small part due to it being uniquely reliant on a smaller pool of high-staking punters.
Research by the National Centre for Social Research found the top one per cent of horseracing bettors – approximately 60,000 people – produced 52 per cent of revenue, with these people more susceptible to affordability checks. Other sports have a broader base of high-value bettors who contribute less to total revenue.
Adjusted for inflation, turnover on football has fallen by 18 per cent in the last three years, tennis is down by 22 per cent and greyhound racing by 23 per cent. Only golf has fared worse, with a 36 per cent drop in turnover. All those sports have been outperformed by turnover on online casino betting, which has remained vibrant.
It is also worth noting that in September, a report by Frontier Economics estimated that £4.3bn was being staked with black market bookmakers in Britain every year.
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Comment: time is running out for British racing to halt its decline
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