British government's affordability checks plan rejected by racing's participants and fans after petition passes 100,000 signatures

The British government has received a firm rejection of its plan to introduce affordability checks from racing's participants and fans after a petition backed by the sport that called for the measures to be scrapped passed 100,000 signatures on Tuesday night.

A debate in parliament will now be considered and will come at a crucial time for the sport amid significant financial headwinds, worsened by last week's bombshell of a potential hike in online gambling tax rates, announced in Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt's autumn statement.

The government has already provided a written response to the petition, which was launched at the start of the month and registered under the name of Jockey Club chief executive Nevin Truesdale. It was required to respond when the petition, titled 'Stop the implementation of betting affordability/financial risk checks' reached 10,000 signatures.

Plans to introduce the checks were outlined when the government published its gambling white paper in April and have been met with significant and widespread opposition.

Although affordability checks have not been officially implemented as government policy, they have been extensively rolled out in recent years by bookmakers acting under Gambling Commission pressure. One in four bettors said in a recent survey that they had already been impacted by the measures, while more than half of punters said they would be prepared to bet less on the sport or walk away entirely over the controversial proposals.

Industry estimates have placed the potential lost revenue for British racing over the next five years due to affordability checks in the region of £250 million, and Racecourse Association (RCA) chief executive David Armstrong warned the sport was set for "a very tough 2024" with affordability measures contributing to a double-digit drop in revenues from betting this year.

The petition was launched after a Gambling Commission consultation on 'Financial risk checks for bettors'. The call for evidence for that consultation closed last month on October 18.

The petition reads: "We want the government to abandon the planned implementation of affordability checks for some people who want to place a bet. We believe such checks – which could include assessing whether people are 'at risk of harm' based on their postcode or job title – are inappropriate and discriminatory.

A petition backed by the sport that called for affordability checks to be scrapped passed 100,000 signatures on Tuesday nightCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The proposed checks could see bettors having to prove they can afford their hobby if they sustain losses as low as £1.37 per day. We accept the need to help those with problem gambling but more intrusive checks triggered at a higher threshold risks bettors moving to the black market where there are no consumer protections or safer gambling tools.

"There will also be a negative impact on British horseracing's finances due to a reduction in betting turnover and resulting fall in Levy yield."

In its written response after the petition surged past 10,000 signatures, the government said it remained committed to "proportionate, frictionless" checks on bettors.

The response also stated it, along with the Gambling Commission, recognised concerns over the proposed system of "financial risk checks" and said it had "challenged operators to be more transparent with punters in the interim" with the wait for a frictionless solution ongoing.

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