Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO warns proposed tax rise could see British racing come to 'significant harm'

The head of one of the world's largest and most successful racing and betting jurisdictions has spoken of his great concern that a move by the UK government to increase taxation could cause significant harm to Britain's racing and breeding industries. 

Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges also warned that raising tax rates on horserace betting, allied to extensive use by gambling operators of affordability checks, would increase the flow of money away from the regulated sector and into the black market. 

British racing showed a united front in Westminster last week as administrators, trainers, racecourse executives and jockeys all urged the Treasury to carefully consider the implications of a potential £330 million hit to racing's finances over the next five years.

According to independent modelling, that is the level of damage which would result from raising the rate of tax from 15 per cent to 21 per cent, in line with the current duty on online casino games and slots.

Speaking of the double hit that racing's economic model would suffer following on from the introduction of financial risk checks and deposit limits, Engelbrecht-Bresges said: "We can see that on the back of that [affordability checks], if you now have a significant increase in the level of taxation, it will be a major issue for the British racing and breeding industries. 

"What people forget is, it’s not only the gaming side, in the end it’s an ecosystem which goes from breeding, racing and wagering in a circle.

"I’m very concerned when you look at the latest developments, because we have revealed that further over-regulation can lead to significant economic damage, and not only for wagering companies."

On the eve of last week's Westminster event, on the day British racing took the unprecedented step of effectively going on strike to highlight fears over taxation, a minister in the Treasury, Dan Tomlinson MP, said the government and civil servants were "working closely with the industry to understand any potential impacts" of any changes to the tax rate. 

John Gosden addresses the 'Axe the Racing Tax' event in WestminsterCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Engelbrecht-Bresges said: "Horseracing is a mental game, it’s not a game of chance. I can understand that there were definitely developments, especially with games of chance, which were pushed too far, and this has created gambling harm.

"But I don’t think, from all the studies we have done, that this can be said for the racing product. So I feel strongly that racing should be treated differently and that one should look at the overall economic impact which racing has. 

"This is why we have continually voiced concern about over-regulation, which seems to be happening, especially in Great Britain." 

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's betting turnover on its domestic racedays in the 2024-25 season was HK$139 billion (£13bn/€15bn) across 847 domestic races and a further 397 which were simulcast from abroad.

BHA figures submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport during the gambling review also put annual betting turnover on British racing at approximately £13bn, though with a fixture list which dwarfs that in Hong Kong – 1,458 race meetings are scheduled for 2026 in Britain, while Hong Kong's season comprises just 88 cards. 

The Hong Kong Jockey Club generated betting turnover of more than £13bn during the 2024-25 seasonCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Engelbrecht-Bresges also chairs the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, an umbrella organisation that advises national racing bodies such as the BHA and has developed significant expertise in analysing black market gambling operations, which it estimates was worth $1.7 trillion worldwide in 2024 and is growing faster than the regulated sector.

"We have global experts to understand the impact of regulations and taxation on the illegal market," said Engelbrecht-Bresges. 

"The team has done studies methodically, and have seen that if you introduce too many regulations and restrictions, then people will avoid this, especially in a digital age, where you have 80 per cent of the turnover in a lot of jurisdictions.

"Then the risk is you have a completely unregulated industry, with certain stimulations which can cause gaming harm. This is why we advocate reasonable regulation, but we feel that what we now see in Great Britain is of great concern."

Since 2019 the Hong Kong Jockey Club has pioneered the World Pool, which hosts commingled betting pools across some of international racing's biggest meetings, ploughing millions in revenue into host operators' coffers. 

Many of the biggest UK Flat meetings attract commingled betting from across the globe via World PoolCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Engelbrecht-Bresges believes the huge volume of the pools offers greater value to betting customers, and is concerned any future leakage to the black market in Britain could have a negative effect globally as well as locally.

"If you have sufficient liquidity, if you have deep value in the pool, this becomes an instrument to combat the illegal market," said Engelbrecht-Bresges. "When we have simulcast races in Hong Kong, we have 70, 80 or 90 different jurisdictions which participate. 

"But when, in one or more jurisdictions, you have too many restraints or restrictions, or the rates of tax are too high, then it will go back [to the illegal market]. Even the liquidity in this pool will be lower."

Engelbrecht-Bresges added of the threat in the British context: "We have to keep this ecosystem going, and this is why we're concerned this over-regulation in one of the leading jurisdictions in the world, with one of the best racing products in the world, could lead to significant harm."

In 2025, 17 of the 37 designated World Pool racedays featured a total of 19 British meetings, while another four Irish dates figured too. 

Only Australia, with 20 meetings across 14 separate racedays, is of comparable importance to the World Pool schedule, while turnover in the global pools was up by 11 per cent at Glorious Goodwood and ten per cent at Royal Ascot.  

Read these next:

Newbury 'mindful' of potential impact from gambling tax rise as racecourse narrows losses in first half of the year 

Tetchy Treasury statement suggests racing might have to tread carefully with its tax campaign 

'We won't be left with much of an industry' - John Gosden warns of challenges facing British racing on day of government protest 

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