British horse racing might not be getting its way on affordability but the sport’s leadership are confident the government has its back when it comes to advertising.

Gambling advertising is a common target of gambling reform advocates, with campaigners long calling for an end to betting sponsorship and marketing in English football in particular.

At a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) press event this week, the authority’s Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Greg Swift, remarked that racing does not expect to ever see the same scrutiny.

“There is a very clear recognition in parliament, even among those who have a view about gambling advertising, that racing is a very distinct market,” he said.

“There is nobody advocating for that [a restriction on advertising in relation to racing], even those people who are opposed to gambling advertising. 

“If anything were introduced around advertising, gambling advertising restrictions, that shouldn’t apply to racing, so that’s on the table.”

Racing gets a break amid gambling advertising talks

Advertising is crucial for racing. Firstly there’s the customer acquisition element. 

British horse racing has been struggling with attendances for many years, although the past year has seen the sport regain some ground.

According to the BHA’s own figures, the sport’s attendances took a hit between 2019-2025, with the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020-2021 not doing it any favours – or any sport or in-person business for that matter.

In 2025, racing attendees surpassed five million for the first time since 2019. Advertising will be crucial for the BHA and other racing organisations – the Jockey Club, Arena Racecourse Company (ARC) and Racecourse Association – to keep this momentum going.

The other side of this is finances. Racing is heavily dependent on sponsorship, media rights payments and the horse racing betting levy for its finances, and any cutbacks to betting sponsorship in the sport could affect that.

Prominent operators like bet365 and Entain have already made a few cutbacks this year due to the new tax framework, though some like Betway have announced new deals. If operators were forced out of marketing in racing for regulatory reasons, this would deal a financial hammer blow to the sport.

Thankfully, according to the BHA, politicians are acutely aware of this given the sport’s intrinsic links to betting.

However, Brant Dunshea, BHA Chief Executive Officer, added that the sport wants to see the government follow through on plans to clamp down on illegal gambling, including the way illegal operators market themselves.

“If there was a concerted effort to address the advertising by illegal gambling operators, that deals with half the half the issue straight away and so my position would be that if there were to be any regulations in relation to advertising, it needs to focus on the black market because that addresses both issues. 

“It addresses concerns around advertising, but also that migration and growth in the black market.”

Still no luck for racing on affordability

Horse racing has been given some breathing room around advertising, according to the BHA.

The issue of affordability is a different matter, however. This has been one of the most fiercely debated topics around betting regulation in 2026, the other being the obvious pushback against the Treasury’s new tax regime.

Racing escaped the worst of the tax raises last year. The BHA mounted a huge campaign against any tax hikes on betting, #AxeTheRacingTax, which ultimately drove a bit of a wedge between it and the betting sector it is so closely tied to when a strike was organised on 11 September.

Ultimately, Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, opted not to increase any taxes directly on racing, though the sport will still be indirectly affected by operators making cuts to marketing budgets as mentioned above.

The sport’s main fear now is that further rollout of affordability checks will deal the blow it managed to avoid from taxation.

“One of the things that the government recognised in the last budgetary process was the huge impact that British racing has on the country, not just economically but socially and culturally,” said Swift.

“And the points we raised ahead of the budget around the potential impact on racing if remote betting duties were increased on racing, those issues still apply now in the event that we have affordability cheques introduced, which we know will have a significant impact on driving further betting activity into the unlicensed sector, be that grey market, black market, it doesn’t matter.”

Affordability checks, as they are colloquially known, refers to the financial risk check system crafted by the Gambling Commission under the remit of the review of the 2005 Gambling Act. 

This review took three years, starting in December 2020 and ending with a White Paper published in April 2023. One of the flagship recommendations was an affordability solution, with the Commission envisioning two types of checks.

The more light touch version of these checks, Financial Vulnerability Checks (FVCs), have been in place since February 2025. The more stringent version, Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs), have not been adopted, and are still a source of controversy.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) trade body went as far as to threaten legal action ahead of the planned implementation date for the checks. 

Other voices to speak out included James Noyes, a prominent gambling reform advocate and long-time proponent of an affordability solution, who stepped down from his government role after arguing that the FRAs had been ill thought out.

The Commission ultimately decided to delay the implementation of FRAs, and the full adoption of checks is now in limbo.

The BHA is now calling for a parliamentary review of betting affordability.

“What the government is not doing is allowing any parliamentary scrutiny of a decision that will be taken not by government, but by the Gambling Commission,” said Swift.

“And we’re talking about a decision that will significantly impact two multi-billion pound industries that employ close to 200,000 people across the country. And from our perspective, and we have spelled this out in very clear terms to DCMS, it beggars belief that a decision of such magnitude can be taken without there being parliamentary scrutiny. 

“There are 59 racecourse MPs. For starters, all of whose constituencies will be impacted by this decision. Then you throw in the training centres, then you throw in every other part of the country.”