£15m or £40m? Annual cost of affordability checks to racing is still guesswork

What's the annual cost to racing of affordability checks being introduced into the betting industry? It's either a shade under £15 million, according to figures published by the government along with its white paper, or £40m if you prefer the analysis of Arc chief executive Martin Cruddace, published at the end of last year.

"We're a little concerned that it might be an underestimation," was the uber-tactful response to the government's maths offered by the BHA's Julie Harrington. She was speaking during a briefing to media organised by racing's ruling body, at which the dominant feeling was that we still don't know enough to assess how much trouble lies ahead.

In fact, £14.9m was the top end of the government's estimate for what racing might suffer as the result of its changes to gambling regulation. It accepts there will be at least a £5m loss to the levy racing receives from bookmaker profits as well as a £3m reduction in media rights payments made by the betting industry and a token £0.4m decline in sponsorship income.