'It's costing turnover' - restrictions are forcing down online betting says professional gambler Neil Channing

Punters are being forced into betting smaller and less often due to account restrictions and the threat of affordability checks, prompting online betting turnover on racing to plummet, according to professional gambler Neil Channing.

Channing said punters were having to be strategic to avoid hitting deposit thresholds that would result in bookmakers asking for sensitive financial information, such as bank statements, to allow them to prove they are able to afford their betting.

Last week, figures released by the Gambling Commission showed online betting turnover on British horseracing had dropped by £1.6 billion in the last two years, leaving the sport with a real-terms black hole in its finances of £3bn when adjusted for inflation.

Channing said: “You just have to bet smaller as you're limited on what you can deposit and that's not really how most people bet. For example with Cheltenham, lots of people I know wouldn't go too mad in January because the racing is a bit rubbish in the build-up but then they'd go bigger during the festival. If you're limited per month you can't do that, unless you're organised and get things lined up.

“How can punters be happy to send in quite detailed information while often having no idea who will see it, how it will be used and stored? Certain bookmakers are also using the whole affordability thing and regulatory requirements to attempt to weed out business they don't want, which is costing turnover but not levy necessarily.”

Racing has blamed the Gambling Commission for the 25 per cent drop in online turnover, with Arena Racing chief executive Martin Cruddace labelling the regulator as “unaccountable and out of control” and saying the sport would seek to engage directly prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and culture secretary Lisa Nandy on the decline. His statement was backed by the Racecourse Association, National Trainers Federation and Racehorse Owners Association.

In response, Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said the statement was based on a “thorough misunderstanding of what has been happening and what we are proposing”.

Louie French: called on the government to address the issues more urgently

However, Channing suggested more public lobbying would be a good move for racing, and said: “I've said it from the start, it's an existential threat to the sport. I'm pretty sure the sport is aware of that. Maybe the BHA should have been a bit more public about the work they're doing.”

The need to press home concerns around the impact of affordability checks on racing’s finances has been stressed by Louie French MP, the Conservative shadow minister for sport and gambling.

During a Westminster Hall debate in October on horseracing, sports minister Stephane Peacock MP noted the “huge contribution that horseracing makes not just to our economy but to communities up and down the country” and that the government was aware of the Gambling Commission’s pilot of frictionless checks on punters, which they were “watching with interest”.

More urgency was needed, according to French, who said: “The decline in betting on racing highlights why the Labour government urgently needs to give the gambling sector the certainty they desire. 

“I've repeatedly called on ministers to progress talks on the levy and affordability checks, but they are deaf to industry concerns and the urgency of the situation. Otherwise, ministers will jeopardise a pastime that supports tens of thousands of jobs and invests heavily in British sporting prowess.”

Read these next:

The £3 billion black hole: calls for urgent action on affordability checks as online betting turnover on racing crashes 

British racing lays blame for £3bn black hole at door of 'out of control and unaccountable' Gambling Commission 

Betfair founder and owner-breeder Andrew Black warns about spiralling impact of £3 billion black hole 

'Teetering on the edge' - leading owner says hostility towards racing means punters and owners are falling out of love with the sport 

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