Worried punters body says black market betting 'will grow once there's a need for it'

The level of betting activity on the black market exposed by the Racing Post this week has been described as "deeply concerning" by the Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF), who fear the rise in illegal operators will only increase.

The fuelling of the gambling black market as a consequence of the government's stringent affordability checks was laid bare in an undercover investigation into an illegal bookmaking business that claimed to have more than 1,000 customers, having operated openly for years.

The Post Bookmakers have been widely circulating advertising material within racing with Haydon Simcock, who said he acted as their commercial manager, having links with the sport as a former syndicate manager.

HBF chairman Sean Trivass admitted his shock at the investigation and warned of the dire consequences if the black market took an even tighter hold.

"It was surprising and disappointing that there are people from within the racing industry involved," he said. "The Gambling Commission says the black market is only tiny but once there's a need for it, it will grow. It's deeply concerning that they are already out there and marketing themselves.

"The problem is, someone with a gambling issue – the vulnerable people this whole thing is trying to protect – is actually being pointed in a direction of people taking even more of an advantage of them.

Sean Trivass: "I've been bombarded with texts from casinos"Credit: Horseracing Bettors Forum

"I've been bombarded with texts, from casinos as opposed to horseracing, and I've no idea where they've got my number from. They market themselves as not being GambleAware, which is bad news in itself."

Since Monday's parliamentary debate on affordability checks, which was triggered by a petition against them receiving 100,000 signatures, frustration has been evident in racing at gambling minister Stuart Andrew's failure to engage with arguments for rethinking proposals.

Trivass was encouraged by the turnout for the three-hour debate of MPs fighting racing's corner and agreed with criticism that a one-size-fits-all approach to the checks would not work.

"If you look at the flat figure spending triggers of £125 in a month and £500 in a year, wouldn't it be better to have a set percentage of your earnings?" he said.

"The positives from the debate were [that] we were pleasantly surprised by how many MPs turned up and were on racing's side. I was pleased the HBF was name-dropped twice by the minister, but I was disappointed he seemed to have a pre-prepared answer that didn't particularly seem to take on board all the suggestions that were made in debate. 

"Considering there are massive delays every time there's a new consultation, I don't see why it couldn't have been put back another six months to at least look into and discuss with said MPs all the concerns they have, to see if they could find alternative solutions."

Trivass will discuss affordability checks on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme on Monday, starting just after midday. 

Read these next:

Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes says it is ‘actively investigating’ illegal bookies 

Revealed: the racehorse owner fronting an illegal bookmaker with more than 1,000 customers 

'These checks are deeply flawed and people could be forced to the black market during the Cheltenham Festival' 

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