The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has taken unprecedented action in protest of increasingly likely tax rises on UK betting by calling a strike on 10 September.

Scheduled fixtures at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park on 10 September have been cancelled, marking the first time in British racing history that meetings have been called off as a direct response to government policy.

A campaign event will be held in Westminster protesting the potential tax on the same day as the cancelled fixtures. This will be attended by racehorse owners, trainers and jockeys, who the BHA state will ‘highlight the threat of the Treasury’s proposals’ on the industry. This accompanies and further builds on the industry’s ‘AxeTheRacingTax’ campaign and petition.

The BHA’s campaign is being supported by the Arena Racing Company (ARC), which owns 16 British racecourses; the Jockey Club, which owns 15; and the UK industry association for horse racing trainers, the National Trainers Federation (NTF).

Brant Dunshea, CEO of the BHA, said: “We have decided to take the unprecedented decision to cancel our planned racing fixtures on 10 September to highlight to Government the serious consequences of the Treasury’s tax proposals which threaten the very future of our sport.

“British Racing is already in a precarious financial position and research has shown that a tax rise on racing could be catastrophic for the sport and the thousands of jobs that rely on it in towns and communities across the country.

“This is the first time that British Racing has chosen not to race due to Government proposals. We haven’t taken this decision lightly but in doing so we are urging the Government to rethink this tax proposal to protect the future of our sport which is a cherished part of Britain’s heritage and culture.

“Our message to Government is clear: axe the racing tax and back British Racing.”

A dis-united front

The BHA may have the support of the ARC, Jockey Club and NTF, but the reaction to its planned racing strike from across the betting industry is a lot less unified. The betting and gaming industry and horse racing industry are both strongly opposed to the tax increases, but for different reasons.

HM Treasury’s proposals, which it is still evaluating and concluded a consultation on last month, would see a merger of the three types of betting tax – Remote Gaming Duty of 21%; General Betting Duty of 15% and Pool Betting Duty of 15%.

There is a very strong chance it will be announced in the Autumn budget by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, who has a £51bn black hole in public finances to fill.

Betting operators of course have bottom lines and in the case of the PLCs, shareholder value, to consider. The companies have mainly voiced their concerns around the black market, however, arguing that tax raises would negatively impact many consumers and subsequently push them towards the black market.

The industry has also repeatedly cited the industry’s overall £8.8bn economic contribution and £4bn tax contribution, as well as its financial support for sports like racing, which the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) states gains £350m a year from the betting industry.

Sebastian Butterworth, Director of Racing Strategy at Flutter UKI, said: “Any increase in gambling tax will have a profound effect on funding for racing – be that a rise in betting duty or a tax raid on people who play games like online bingo and poker.

“We are already having to reconsider certain investments in UK racing and we urge the Government to reconsider.”

BGC slams ‘futile political gestures’

Regarding the tax, racing obviously has its finances in mind, with the sport having also been calling for a revaluation of the horse racing betting levy – one of two major financial pipelines with the betting industry alongside sponsorship.

The sport’s position on taxation has at times differed from its ally in the betting industry. As stated above, though both are opposed to the tax, their reasons are sometimes different.

Notably, racing stakeholders argue that it should be taxed at a different level to casino games and slot games, citing its status as a sport, as well as the different levels of harm between betting on racing and casino gambling.

These differing opinions have been shown in the BGC’s response to the racing strike, with the trade body having some harsher words for the BHA’s industry action than Flutter, coincidentally one of its biggest members.

”Racing’s decision to reschedule fixtures was taken without consultation with betting operators, whose support for the funding of the sport is mission critical,” the BHA’s statement read.

“We are concerned that futile political gestures will only antagonise the Government and frustrate punters instead of delivering a solution to a shared challenge facing both racing and betting.

‘We want to work with racing constructively to prevent further damaging tax rises, as any new tax rise on any part of betting or gaming can only undermine racing’s revenues and threaten investment in the sport – already a more expensive and less profitable product for operators.

“At the same time, higher costs and avoidable disruption risk driving customers to the unsafe, unregulated black market, which pays nothing to racing or the Treasury and offers no protection for consumers.”

The BGC also reiterated the above-mentioned figures of the industry’s £6.8bn economic contribution, £4bn tax generation, the 109,000 jobs it creates, and the £350m it funnels into racing as well as funding for other sports.

“Put that at risk, and it is customers and communities across the country that lose out,” the statement concluded.

For all the grumbling of the BGC, BHA, and other stakeholders, the industry should brace itself for tax hikes in Autumn, with PM Keir Starmer’s Labour government probably more likely to listen to the increasingly loud voices from its backbenches than the industry.

Perhaps even more significant is the economic pressure bearing down on the government, which as noted has a multi-billion hole in public finances to fill – and with UK gross gaming yield for online betting alone standing at £1.49bn in Q1 2025/26, the industry may represent a good source of state revenue to help fill this hole.

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