'It's madness' - on-course bookmakers respond to government's white paper proposals

On-course bookmakers on Monday voiced concerns about how they would be affected by the outcome of further consultations into the gambling white paper released by the government last week.

The government document proposes a two-tier system of what it claims would largely be 'frictionless' background checks on punters, the first triggered by a net loss of £125 within a month or £500 within a year and the second by £1,000 in a 24-hour period or £2,000 over 90 days. 

The current proposals apply only to the remote sector, but the white paper said the government wanted to explore the use of frictionless financial risk checks where appropriate in "land-based settings", under which umbrella the retail sector and on-course bookmakers fall.

Layers warned against any restrictions in the betting ring, saying any form of in-person affordability checks would drastically damage trade and the sport.

The possibility of financial checks being extended to the ring have come as the British Racecourse Bookmakers Association (BRBA) warned of the impact of proposed changes to the 2024 fixture list, which could include a move to permit only three fixtures to be staged in a two-hour protected window on Saturdays in an attempt to boost betting turnover, primarily online.

Cliff Emery, who was standing at Warwick on Monday, said: "These checks don't make sense and nobody has mentioned on-course bookmakers and how it would work. If the government succeeds in what they're trying to do, they will kick racing back many, many years.

"If someone has a £500 bet with me in the first race, then goes to another bookmaker for the second race and another for the third - how on earth are we supposed to keep track of that? It's madness."

'Where does it stop?'

On-course bookmaker Andy Geraghty said: "I was hoping they'd leave the on-course boys alone, it's chalk and cheese compared to the online industry. How could you possibly regulate it on-course?

"People go to the races with an amount in their pockets and spend it on food, booze and bets. That's their day out and if they come back with more than they went with they're delighted but if they spend it all they're pretty happy as that's what they went to spend.

"Racing becomes a very expensive day out if people can't back a winner or two to pay for their drinks. Will they still come? A big part of the fun is the chance to win the money to pay for your day. A lot of people do go for the social occasion and an afternoon on the booze, but having a bet is part of the attraction and we're not talking lumpy bets, most are betting 5-£10.

"It's a perfectly legal hobby, but you're being told what you can and can't do with your own money. Where does it stop? They're bringing in regulations but it affects everyone who enjoys a flutter every now and then. That can't be right."

Gary Wiltshire, trading at Warwick, said: "It's going to be very hard to monitor. There's not really big bets struck on course, most of our bets are £2.50 each way. I was at the Scottish National meeting at Ayr last week and the average bet was a fiver. You never see these so called monster bets you see on the TV."

Arena Racing Company last year estimated the annual cost to racing of affordability checks already introduced into the betting industry was £40 million. The government has put the figure at a maximum of £14.9m.

There have been reports of an increase in betting with cash on course as a result, evidence endorsed by Glyn Jones, who will be at Newmarket this weekend and was at Windsor on Monday.

He said: "These checks will probably help us because anyone who wants to have a bet might have to come on-course now. I think there's been a few more big punters about in the last few months, compared to previously. That could be by chance, but there's as much chance it's because of affordability checks."

What's your verdict on the white paper? Email us at editor@racingpost.com with the subject 'Gambling review' to share your views following the publication of the gambling review white paper

Read these next:

BHA concern over financial risk checks as government reveals white paper 

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

'Frictionless' affordability checks raise more questions than answers

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