Affordability checks a 'massive problem' for Cheltenham Festival punters

Intrusive affordability checks will deter punters from betting on the Cheltenham Festival, the most important week of the year for the sport, fears the body that represents punters.

Sean Trivass, chair of the Horseracing Bettors Forum, is convinced the checks are a major turn-off for punters and that those who largely gamble at popular fixtures like Cheltenham and the Grand National could decide not to bet if they are asked to provide personal financial information to bookmakers for possibly the first time in the build-up to the big spring meetings.

The warning comes after the Racing Post reported on Monday how punters, already being targeted online, were being asked to supply proof of finance to gamble in betting shops, with some even barred from entering outlets.

Opposition has grown against the intrusive checks, with the minister for gambling Paul Scully last week making a significant intervention before the release of the long-awaited white paper into gambling, arguing individuals should be given the freedom to decide how much they can afford to bet rather than a decision being determined by the government or Gambling Commission. In December it was estimated that racing had lost £40 million in revenues as punters choose either to reduce or stop betting, or even head to the black market.

The Cheltenham Festival starts in six weeks and races across the four days feature heavily among those which produce the highest betting turnover. In 2021, the latest year with available data from the Levy Board,  eight of the top ten British races on turnover were at the meeting.

Trivass said: "It's going to be a massive problem. You're going to put punters off in the short term and the long term, which isn't good for the sport. Bookmaker turnover goes down, levy goes down.

Sean Trivass: "You're going to put punters off in the short term and the long term, which isn't good for the sport"Credit: Horseracing Bettors Forum

"I think it will be an issue for all those people walking to the betting shop for the first time in a while or logging into online accounts that haven't been touched for many months or even since the Grand National. These part-time punters are suddenly going to try to put some money in their account for Cheltenham and be asked for bank statements and P60s.

"We're wary that people will experience problems in the run up to Cheltenham and the week too. Part-time punters are going to be caught in this net. If you only bet occasionally then you can probably go without. Are people who only bet once or twice a year wanting to go through this rigmarole?

"A very small percentage of people are happy to go through with affordability checks but they are the ones who bet on a regular basis. An even smaller percentage of part-time punters would want to go through it."

There are similar concerns regarding how much pleasure established racing fans will derive from punting at signature fixtures, with the threat of affordability checks looming. Around 90 per cent of the estimated 1,200 members of the Middleham Park syndicate, the most successful in Britain, are gamblers and among the thousands who could be impacted.

Middleham Park offer shares starting from an initial cost of £750, with a monthly fee of £100, but with the potential of recuperating costs from prize-money and if the horse is sold. They do not require any type of credit or affordability check from new members.

Tim Palin, the founder of the syndicate, said: "The checks do seem as if it's problematic in practice and it'll have an impact on racing and its purse-strings, no doubt. What the answer is, I don't know. Our business operates successfully without the need to put in any affordability checks or credit controls for our owners. Bookmakers have operated for a number of years managing their clients and liabilities and been able to do it without any measures being overly draconian.

"I'd say well in excess of 90 per cent of our owners like to have a bet, not necessarily serious bets but recreationally on their horse or other big festivals."

Have you been affected by intrusive affordability checks? If so, we would like to hear from you. Email us (editor@racingpost.com) with the subject 'Affordability checks' to share your experiences and contact details

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