Sympathy will always be in short supply when bookmakers plead poverty in the public domain.
The old adage of ‘you never see a poor bookie, do you?’ is one that is seemingly being sorely tested.
You could argue that it’s been a long time coming, however it’s important to be mindful of the ramifications for racing.
The November budget delivered a sledgehammer to the gambling industry. The Gambling Commission are now asking for more money from the government to combat the rise of the black market.
Quelle surprise. Due to a basic lack of economic literacy in the corridors of power, it’s almost as if taxing regulated companies to the hilt and forcing them to ramp up the price of their product will drive customers away and into the illegal and/or offshore sector.
A wrecking ball has crashed through the sector. Why? For a cheap £1.1billion tax grab that will be invariably wasted by this rudderless Westminster government.
Sponsors Coral present the Eclipse prize but have cut their sponsorship at Cheltenham
Coral sponsor the Eclipse but are cutting back due to the hit on gambling in the budget
Ladbrokes sponsor The King George VI Chase and racing might be fearful in losing more sponsors
In truth, MPs and the Commission have barely understood the subject for years. The initial White Paper drawn up by the previous Conservative administration was wholly insufficient. Other issues mercifully kicked it into the long grass, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was only in September 2023 when Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said to a parliamentary committee that the risk of the black market ‘is overstated’ and ‘the size of the black market is very small.’
Fast forward to October 2025 and Rhodes was proudly saying how the Commission are ‘tracking over 1,000 illegal operators as we try to shut them down.’
A month later, he added: ‘There is nothing more exploitive than the illegal market. We are hear for all consumers.’
This week, the Gambling Commission have requested a 30 per cent funding increase to combat the rise of the black market. Not so overstated now. A survey last year suggested that up to nine per cent of Britain’s betting is done on the black market.
The survey, which was staggeringly revealed by the Commission in September 2025, was when Rhodes said: ‘The illegal online market is unsafe, unfair and criminal – that is why the Commission has invested heavily in this area in recent years.
‘To be even more effective in combatting the illegal market it’s vital that we both have a deep and broad understanding of how it operates, and this insight is a crucial step in building that understanding in a very complex area to research.
Since April 2024, we’ve seen a ten-fold increase in our disruption activity and we intend to continue to work with a wide range of partners to build on this success.’
Life comes at you fast, as they say.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered a budget that has hurt the regulated gambling sector
This is the kind of thing that should have been predicted years ago. Any punter knew restrictions were increasing, any bookmaker knew costs were rising. Combine the two and it shouldn’t be difficult to anticipate betting shifting towards the shadows.
An Illegal Gambling Taskforce has been set up in the last week to combat something that should never need to have been created in the first place.
The Commission now estimate there is £4.3billion being staked on the black market and 1.5million Brits use it.
In the defence of Rhodes and Co, the Commission are only there to licence and regulate. Like bookmakers over affordability checks on punters, they’ve been led a wild goose chase for years by various Westminster administrations and politicians of all persuasions simply not knowing what to do.
There was a very simple answer to what MPs should have done at the start of all this: nothing. Parliament should be primarily focused on affairs that impact the public; infrastructure, education, health etc… Not this constant pussyfooting around cultural issues that they have no business in being part of.
Fix the fundamentals.
Where does racing come into this wrangle? Well, the sport successfully campaigned to avoid a direct hit from this classic Labour tax and spend budget. But the wider gambling industry hasn’t been so fortunate.
Tax rates on online products aside from racing have been hiked. And when increased taxes and costs hit businesses, then cuts arrive and the pain is invariably passed onto the customer.
Last September’s ‘Axe The Racing Tax’ plea may have driven a wedge through bookies and racing
Big corporations, like them or not, are enormous contributors to racing’s funding. It’s a sport primarily bankrolled by wealthy owners and losing punters. The latter are accommodated by bookies who sponsor the vast majority of big races and festivals.
Having a strong relationship with bookies is in racing’s interest and there’s already evidence that the terms presented by the new budget have bitten.
William Hill, who were saddled with a huge amount of debt anyway, have announced a review of their operations and will close down shops.
They sponsor Newbury’s big handicap hurdle next week. They also sponsor the Scottish leagues and their predicament could see cutbacks in things like ambassadors and sponsorship.
The Coral Cup has been a major handicap hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. No more after this week.
Entain, parent company of Ladbrokes-Coral, ended their long association with the race. PR director Simon Clare said: ‘It is with some sadness that we are today announcing that Coral will not be continuing with its sponsorship of The Coral Cup.
‘Coral has been the longest-running sponsor at the Cheltenham Festival since 1974, but the sheer size of the Government’s recent tax increase on betting operators means we are having to take very difficult decisions as we look to mitigate some of the huge impact, none more difficult or regrettable then bringing our sponsorship at Cheltenham to an end.
‘The Jockey Club are strong, long-standing partners of Entain, and although we are stepping away from this sponsorship, we will continue to work passionately and collaboratively with their racecourse teams on the big sponsorships we have with them under our Ladbrokes and Coral brands.
William Hill announced they will close some UK betting shops
‘Horse racing remains very important to Entain, and Coral and Ladbrokes have some of the biggest and most enduring sponsorships in the calendar, including the Ladbrokes King George, which had one of its best-ever renewals a few weeks ago, and the Coral-Eclipse where last year we celebrated 50 years of sponsorship. The Cheltenham Festival is also a massive four days for our business and our customers, and we will be promoting and celebrating it as much as ever in our shops and online and across our marketing channels.
‘However, the significant change in the taxation landscape for betting operators means we need to drive even more value out of the events we sponsor, and review with even greater scrutiny where we invest our marketing spend, which has resulted in the end of the Coral Cup sponsorship.
‘And whilst the tax we pay on UK horse racing will not increase compared to other betting and gaming products, UK horse racing is, and will continue to be, the most expensive product we offer, given the huge cost of media rights on top of the statutory levy. It is therefore essential for the long-term health of the sport that Racing works even harder with betting operators to grow its appeal to consumers, whilst ensuring that it does not get any more expensive in a world where our tax burden has increased so sharply, and our ability to invest will be increasingly restricted. We look forward to working constructively with all our partners in horse racing on this mutually important mission.’
This laid bare the current headwinds racing face. The sport must try to mend its relationship with bookies and understand their predicament. Racing must also be clever and adept enough to seek out alternative funding streams.
The days of endless pots of gold from media rights and major online bookies that racing banked on are over.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK…
JPR ONE produced a terrific weight-carrying performance to win the Scottish Champion Chase. Trainer Joe Tizzard was having his first runner at the East Lothian venue and JPR One conceded at least a whopping 17lb to the rest of the field.
He stamped his class on the race from the front and jumped superbly to prevail by just under three lengths.
The nine-year-old rated 156 could be aimed at the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival after such a splendid effort.
Paul Nicholls has targeted this weekend’s fixture at Musselburgh with regular success
SELECTIONS OF THE WEEK…
PAUL NICHOLLS targets Scottish Cheltenham Festival Trials weekend with great success and SONGINO (4-1, Sky Bet) can land the Pertemps Qualifier (3.40) as the step to to three miles should suit.
Let’s hope Leopardstown gets the green light to race after yesterday was put back to Monday as the Dublin Racing Festival battles the torrential rain.
But that allows us to focus on Musselburgh. PURE CARBON (3-1, William Hill) can bounce back after unseating last time to take out the 1.50 for in-form trainer Harry Derham.
The bet365 Edinburgh National (3.05) is the feature marathon handicap chase and another Tizzard top-weight effort could be in the offing as ROCK MY WAY (9-4, bet365) can justify favouritism.
