Curragh boss Brian Kavanagh challenges gambling bill minister over 'disrespectful' comments

Curragh manager Brian Kavanagh, one of international racing's most senior and established administrators, has hit out at a lack of understanding of the impact of the pending Gambling Regulation Bill after the minister tasked with drafting it belittled the knock-on threats to racing as a result of a proposed watershed ban on gambling advertising. 

On Tuesday, James Browne, the minister of state in the Department of Justice who is responsible for the legislation, compared the broadcast of Irish racing's pictures to that of low-key GAA games, and stated that racing was being led by the bookmaking industry in its objections, which stem from the concerns raised by Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing that it will become unviable for them to broadcast in Ireland if the proposed ban on gambling advertising between 5.30am and 9pm is implemented.

Browne also accused the racing industry, which is estimated to be worth €2.5 billion to the national economy, of being too reliant on bookmaker support. 

However, Kavanagh, who for 20 years was Horse Racing Ireland's chief executive and acted as chairman of the European Pattern Committee for 17 years, as well as being the European representative and vice-chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities for 15 years, has challenged Browne's reading of the situation. 

"The situation is more nuanced than that," he said of Browne comparing racing broadcasts to 'junior' GAA matches. "There were comments as well about racing being dependent on bookmakers for sponsorship, but we have 11 Group 1s here at the Curragh and none of them is sponsored by a bookmaker, so to suggest there is a dependency there is not supported by the facts.

"The reality is there is a nuance here that needs to be appreciated. For years, horseracing and gambling have been inextricably linked, and I would argue that gambling on horseracing is probably more regulated than other forms of gambling and gaming. 

"The real fear is anything that would drive business into a black market, which is completely devoid of any regulation, and there are issues around gaming and lottery betting that need to be addressed also. Everyone in horseracing supports the concept of regulation of gambling, and I don't think it's anyone's intention to cause damage to the racing and breeding industries in Ireland, but there is a concern that there would be unintended consequences from this. 

"The funding link for horseracing with gambling is the same in every other racing jurisdiction that I know of, whether that is a Tote monopoly in France or Hong Kong or Japan, or a levy in the UK or a Horse and Greyhound Fund in Ireland."

James Browne: the minister of state in the Department of Justice

Browne also suggested that non-bookmaking companies would be ready to fill the void should broadcasters be unable to air gambling ads during the watershed, a point Kavanagh feels is contemptuous of the sector. "I think that is disrespectful to the betting companies, who over the years have contributed significantly to both sponsorship and the promotion of racing," he said. 

"It is a tough market for sponsorship. We are lucky at the Curragh we had a full resumé of sponsors last year, and you like to have a broad mix, but bookmaker sponsorships are very important to us. If betting sponsorship is severely restricted, or if sponsorship of broadcasting by betting companies is restricted, it's not a given that people will immediately just flood in to replace that." 

Browne questioned Racing TV's €2m valuation of the cost of a watershed ban to it. Kavanagh challenged that, and pointed out that Browne's criticism of HRI for signing the media rights deal while the legislation was in the offing ignores the fact the direct-to-home element of the €47m media rights deal is only a small portion of the contract, for all that it provides exposure. 

"I would have to take Racing TV's points on that," he said of the valuation. "They are the experts and they know the issues they are dealing with, and the deal had been done 12 or 15 months ago, except for the bit of politicking that was going on. 

"What is missed is that the direct-to-home TV element of the media rights deal is a very small element of the media rights deal. The bigger value in the media rights is not with Racing TV or Sky Sports Racing, it is with the Licensed Betting Operator element of it, which is through SIS, and the streaming elements, or broadcasting racing to Tote services internationally and so on.

"So the direct-to-home TV element, while it is very important for broadcasting, it is a smaller part of the financial element of the media rights package. Both Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing have consistently said that this legislation will create difficulty with their broadcasting. It's not a question of crying wolf, I don't believe."

Read more:

Irish minister accuses bookmakers of 'crying' over proposed advertising ban in gambling bill 

Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing may be forced to stop broadcasting in Ireland due to 'devastating impact' of new gambling bill 

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