BGC revises contribution figure for British racing by £71m following 'data mistake'

The Betting and Gaming Council has issued a revised, lower figure for the betting industry's annual contribution to British racing after concerns were raised over the accuracy of the initial estimate.  

Following a re-evaluation of the numbers, the industry body said its members had directly contributed £384 million to British horseracing in levy, media rights and sponsorship deals in 2022, rather than the £455m it had claimed at the start of the month.

The difference in the two figures came from an error in the calculation of media rights payments, which the BGC has now said increased by around £24.5m since the previous year, and totalled £270m in 2022. The BGC had previously said the figure was £340m.

Racing's leaders and media rights companies had questioned the BGC's original figure, saying it did not tally with their numbers.

Of the remaining sum, levy payments are projected to be £99m in 2022-2023, with the rest made up from sponsorship.

The new figure of £384m is still a near ten per cent increase on previous estimates for the industry's contribution to horseracing of around £350m a year.

The BGC had warned racing's leaders that the betting industry is not a "bottomless pit" when it comes to funding the sport, comments which were the latest salvo in the debate over British racing's finances following the government's launch of a review of the levy system.

A BGC spokesperson said: "A previous press release issued by the BGC misstated this overall figure, based on a mistake with part of the data, which we have now corrected.

“It is important to emphasise that this is still significantly more than previous publicly stated estimates of £350m a year in contributions from betting to racing. The BGC is incredibly proud of our ongoing, significant and increasing investment into British horseracing, at a time when betting turnover is reducing.

“We look forward to working closely with the BHA and other stakeholders to ensure British horseracing has a strategy to change and grow the sport, putting it on a more sustainable footing.”

In addition to the £384m, the BGC claimed bookmakers also spent £125m on marketing to promote racing and betting through advertisements and partnerships.

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Bookmakers warn they are not a 'bottomless pit' after claims of £384 million contribution to racing

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