Británico BHA warns that budget tax rise could devastate horse racing
The chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority says the rise in gaming machine duty could force thousands of betting shops to close and damage the sport.
The chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, Brant Dunshea, has warned that the government's budget tax increase on betting shop gaming machines could have a devastating impact on the sport. He said the ruling body would urgently engage with the government to establish how the two sides could work together to reduce the impact.
Chancellor John Healey raised Machine Games Duty, the levy on profits from fixed-odds gaming machines in betting shops, from 20 per cent to 25 per cent in his first budget. The rise was widely anticipated, but it fell well short of the doubling to 40 per cent recommended earlier this year by the Social Market Foundation think-tank. Dunshea nevertheless said the move could still prove devastating for racing, since it presented a clear risk that hundreds, if not thousands, of betting shops across the country face closure.
Dunshea's warning rests on the link between the high street and the sport. Betting shops are a significant part of the commercial network through which racing is funded, so the closure of outlets would reduce the income that flows into the industry. His comments were reported as a warning about the future of the sport rather than a request for a short-term concession.
The tax change was announced alongside a wider economic picture. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the government's independent forecaster, issued a sharp downgrade for growth in 2027, household disposable incomes and the public finances. It said British households faced a pretty grim picture for living standards, as the war in the Middle East dragged down growth and triggered a fresh cost of living crisis, despite the measures taken by the chancellor.
Healey presented the budget as his first as chancellor and offered a £100 payment to households to help them navigate what he described as global economic storms. The combination of a weaker outlook for household incomes and higher duties on betting operators has therefore put the gambling and racing sectors under particular scrutiny in the days after the announcement.
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