Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace has voiced “considerable surprise” the Gambling Commission was not among the bodies contacted by the government in recent weeks following calls to “regulate for growth”.
The prime minister Keir Starmer, chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds wrote to 17 regulators before Christmas asking them to identify pro-growth proposals which could be made this year. The first of a series of meetings with regulators was set to take place at 11 Downing Street on Thursday.
However, the Gambling Commission was not one of the regulators to receive a letter, nor has it been called in to meet ministers.
This week BHA chair Joe Saumarez Smith told a parliamentary reception that British racing was “well placed to assist government with its national growth agenda”, but he said the sport was facing “significant headwinds” including a regime of affordability checks conducted by betting operators, claimed by the gambling industry to be “at the behest of the Gambling Commission”.
Cruddace said: “It is a considerable surprise the Gambling Commission is not included in the group of regulators with whom the chancellor will meet. The commission can have a major impact on growth on not just one, but two, world-leading industries; horseracing and betting.
“The commission has consistently taken unjustifiable steps and flawed policy decisions that have actually had a wholly unnecessary negative impact on those two industries, when, in fact, both are actually prime targets for sustainable, and well-regulated, growth.”
Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes, speaking during a webinar organised by the International Association of Gaming Advisors on Wednesday, confirmed the commission had not been contacted.
However, he added: “Even though we didn’t get a letter that certainly doesn’t mean that I and others didn’t spend time in the intervening period thinking about what our response to that would be, in terms of what the opportunities might be.
“It’s complicated, especially when we are implementing the white paper where government has done some things which deliberately change GGY [gross gambling yield] levels. That requires a bit of thought.
“We are not one of those regulators but I would be very surprised, as these things happen anyway, if there aren’t more conversations about what the opportunities are, what the views are and there’s obviously going to be a balance in that. Ultimately government will make the choices that it wants to make on this.”
Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Grainne Hurst
Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Grainne Hurst said she believed it was a question of getting regulations right, rather than deregulation.
She added: “BGC members are without doubt one of this nation’s few, genuine, world leaders. But it hasn’t always been treated as such by ministers, of every stripe, who all want to see a growing economy.
“We have a positive and constructive relationship with our independent regulator the Gambling Commission, but the reality is, every area of government, every department, plus those many regulators, all have a role to play in delivering an agile economy capable of growth.
“The BGC has been very clear, whether it’s tackling the black market, or arresting the worrying decline in betting turnover on racing, there are common sense solutions available that will help the cause. Get it right and everyone wins, get it wrong, and the UK will usher their golden goose out the front door, into the open arms of the black market.”
Read these next:
Kenny Alexander sues Gambling Commission over misuse of private information
The Front Runner – Racing Post LPsThe Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members’ Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook provides his take on the day’s biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members’ Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here