Ed Chamberlin: racing cannot afford to lose punters caught up in affordability checks

Lead ITV presenter Ed Chamberlin has said British racing cannot afford to lose punters due to intrusive affordability checks and believes the issue will enter the wider public consciousness as the sport heads into its biggest weeks of the year with the major spring festivals.

Chamberlin called Paul Scully's speech at the Betting and Gaming Council's annual meeting last week "game-changing", after the UK's gambling minister said it was not the role of the government or the Gambling Commission to determine how much an individual can afford to gamble.

He welcomed the intervention but called for the swift publication of the government's gambling review white paper in order to limit damage before the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree's Grand National meeting, with many punters already being hit with intrusive financial checks online and in betting shops.

One estimate has put the cost of the checks already in place to the sport's finances at £40 million, with bookmakers requesting details such as P60s and bank statements from punters in order to continue betting, while some have been barred from betting shops as their custom is no longer accepted.

"It was a game-changing announcement from Paul Scully," Chamberlin said. "It's clear the government's in a different position to the Gambling Commission, which is the most important thing of all. We need things to happen while he’s in that post as he said all the right things.

Paul Scully: "game-changing" announcement from gambling minister

"There is light at the end of the tunnel but we need it quickly as this uncertainty is doing a lot of damage. We're turning people off from our sport which we can't afford to do. I hope this vacuum can be filled with this white paper but even when it's published, it's only going to be recommendations, it's some way off before it becomes law, and it's that uncertainty that's proving so damaging."

The topic of affordability has already been explored on ITV Racing and Chamberlin said it could yet influence the broadcaster's Cheltenham coverage given many casual punters will be engaging with racing for the first time in a while, which may bring them their first experience of the checks.

"This is the biggest few weeks of the sport," he said. "Cheltenham is the week that attracts the casual sports fan far more than any other meeting and the Grand National, the single biggest betting day of the year, follows shortly after.

"I know a lot of people who have been hit by intrusive checks and they've just rolled their eyes and given up on it. A lot of people will have their first bet of the year at Cheltenham and their dormant accounts are about to come alive, but you just know if they're asked for P60s and payslips they're just not going to bother."

Chamberlin lamented the fact that racing was being put in the same bracket as casino and slot games. The former cricket odds-compiler said: "I've been on both sides of the fence and now I love the skill of trying to beat the price and work out the form. It's a labour of love for so many people, yet that kind of punter is being treated the same as someone taking spins on an online casino game, which is sad and unfair.

"It's alarming and frightening when you're working in a sport with the financial structure we've got that this could have such a big effect, where an unelected body has tried to do the right thing and jumped the gun."

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