Punters body to meet with gambling minister after 'worrying' data about account closures revealed

The body that represents punters in Britain is to meet with gambling minister Stuart Andrew next month after a survey highlighted striking data on betting account closures and affordability checks.

The Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF) surveyed 896 punters across a variety of racing and gambling-related subjects. Just under half of respondents to the survey said they had experienced account closures while 42 per cent said they had been the subject of intrusive affordability checks by bookmakers, a major concern for punters both before and after publication of the gambling white paper in April. 

Four respondents admitted to betting on the black market and 503 respondents – 67 per cent of those who answered the question – said they had experienced bookmakers restricting their stakes.

The survey was conducted in collaboration with the BHA to help better understand the views of punters and, in what could be viewed as a show of support for premierisation plans announced last week, 68 per cent felt there was too much racing on a Saturday. Sixty three per cent suggested a cut in the number of races would not result in a change to their gambling habits.

The data will be used to help decision-making within racing and, for the first time following its yearly survey, the HBF is to meet with gambling minister Andrew to address concerns highlighted.

George Ryley, deputy chair of the HBF and manager of the project, said: "Some of the data is really quite worrying. The betting account closure is roughly 50:50 and it is clear how big a problem restricted stakes is. I know I've experienced it myself and there's a huge percentage of other bettors who have too.

"We're going to consider all of the results of the survey and plan our next steps and we have a meeting set up with the gambling minister next month. For me, the restricted stakes and account closures are certainly an area we need to focus on, while affordability checks will be one of the main topics of discussion. 

"The meeting will give us the opportunity to discuss these findings. It's important that horseracing bettors have a voice and we can share the knowledge we've gleaned in this survey."

A major promotional push meant there were almost four times more responses to the survey than in previous years, with bettors also asked for their views on the fixture list. 

Improving the quality of Sunday racing was one of the key strands of the recently announced shake-up of the fixture list for 2024, and 76.6 per cent of respondents were in favour of the move. Punters were less keen on the concept of Sunday evening racing, though, with 43.6 per cent believing it was a bad idea and 25.3 per cent supportive. 

Ryley added: "This year we decided to work in collaboration with the BHA so that we might get some data that is mutually beneficial to us – I think it's really worked. The responses are really interesting.

"For example, we know bettors have been saying for a long time that there's too much racing. In the survey we've delved into that and, if changes were to happen, how it would affect people's betting habits. Then we can consider the consequences for the levy."

Other key findings from the report include the importance of terrestrial television coverage to betting, with 62.7 per cent answering it was either very or quite important, while 85.6 per cent felt there could be improvements made to the accuracy of going descriptions.

Read these next:

Gambling white paper: key plans, affordability checks and what it means 

British racing told to be brave as wide-ranging fixture list reforms are revealed

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