£800 million impact of affordability checks 'tip of the iceberg' for racing

The estimated £800 million impact that affordability checks have already had on betting turnover on British racing is only the tip of the iceberg, according to the chair of Horseracing Bettors Forum.

Sean Trivass, whose body represents the interests of punters, believes millions of people have yet to encounter the checks introduced by bookmakers pre-empting measures expected to feature within the gambling review white paper.

In this week's three-part investigation into affordability checks by Racing Post industry editor Bill Barber, Arena Racing Company's chief executive Martin Cruddace estimated the cost to racing's revenues, based on the £800m decline, at £40m a year.

Reacting to those startling figures, Trivass said: "The numbers are huge – we didn't know how huge they were and how huge they're going to be – but I suspect this is the tip of the iceberg.

"There are millions of people who haven't come across the checks yet and it will only be when they go to top up or withdraw from their account that they are going to be asked the question. We'll only know then how many people are going to toe the line or not going to bother."

'Racing's income is going to take a big hit and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Intrusive checks, involving requests for personal financial information such as bank statements, tax returns and P60s, have been extensively introduced long before the government has set out its proposals on affordability in its continually delayed white paper.

Campaigners have proposed checks be imposed at as low a level as a net monthly loss of £100 – a figure also mentioned in a Gambling Commission consultation launched in 2020.

"My surprise is why the bookmakers are bringing in the restrictions now well ahead of the game when they don't know at what level they should be set," Trivass said.

"I think there are thousands of people who won't want to provide the information as a matter of principle. It's not that they've got anything to hide, it's that they're not willing to be held to account for something that's a pleasurable hobby and nothing to do with anyone else.

"There are plenty of harmful things out there in the world, you can still buy cigarettes and they might tax the living daylights out of you and we know what harm that does to people, but I don't think that's been restricted as much as gambling.

"Racing's income is going to take a big hit and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better."

The impact of affordability checks on racing could be devastating. The sport's income from betting via the levy and media rights was estimated at £262m a year in 2019.

As well as the cost of living crisis, the sport is still trying to recover from the financial impact of Covid-19, with racecourses estimated to have lost more than £400m in revenues across 2020 and 2021.

Julian Thick: 'These are challenging times for British horseracing'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Julian Thick, chief executive of large independent racecourse Newbury, said: "We're clearly concerned as anything that could potentially have a significant impact upon being able to or wanting to bet on horseracing will evidently be to the detriment of the sport overall.

"These are challenging times for British horseracing and a lot of factors are coming together to present significant headwinds for us getting the sport to where we want to get it to and it's up to everybody to work together in order to try and find the best solutions.

"We all need to see the white paper. I think the best thing that could happen would be to see the white paper sooner, so we can all react to it and plan accordingly."

Read more from our recent series:

Part one: an existential threat - how did affordability checks become such a big issue?

Part two: 'I'm very close to giving up' - the punters suffering from affordability checks

Part three: how affordability checks are already hitting horseracing

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