Racing receives £350 million a year through the betting industry, report reveals

A report commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council has revealed horseracing receives £350 million a year from the gambling industry through sponsorship, media rights and betting levy payments.

Those numbers compare favourably to other sports with BGC members contributing £40m a year to the English Football League and its clubs, more than £10m to darts and snooker and over £2.5m to rugby league.

According to the study by Ernst & Young, betting shops, casinos and the online gaming sector support 119,000 jobs, contributed £3.2bn in tax to the Exchequer and £7.7bn in gross value added to the UK economy in 2019.

Michael Dugher, chief executive of the BGC, said: "At a time of economic fears and huge pressures on public finances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the huge contribution betting and gaming makes to UK plc could not be more important.

"This latest, authoritative report by Ernst & Young sets out in black and white the vital role they play in helping to fund the public services upon which we all rely.

"As the standards body representing the regulated industry, the BGC fully supports the government's gambling review plus the need for continued higher, safer gambling standards and more change to regulation.

"However, it is vital the government get those changes right and does nothing to put at risk the future jobs and tax take of a growing, world-leading British industry."

The report, issued ahead of the government's gambling review closing on March 31, states the BGC's members directly employ 61,000 people, with a further 58,000 jobs generated by supply chains, while 19 per cent of those employed in the industry are under 25 and 51 per cent are under 35.

It also estimated 30 million people in Britain gamble, with the rate of problem gambling remaining at 0.5 per cent, and highlighted the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the industry, stating 374 betting shops and six casinos had been permanently closed resulting in the estimated loss of 5,000 jobs.

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