Hills chairman Roger Devlin calls for racing's support amid gambling scrutiny

William Hill chairman Roger Devlin has implored racing to work with bookmakers to help counter the onslaught the sector is facing amid the growing clamour surrounding gambling as a public health issue.

Speaking at the Racehorse Owners Association annual lunch, Devlin told guests racing is facing a "serious financial situation" following the government's crackdown on FOBTs with William Hill alone "shortly" to close up to 900 shops as part of a wider industry figure of 3,000.

Each shop contributes £30,000 in media rights, Devlin said, adding: "Racing and betting need each other."

The FOBTs crackdown could lead to the closure of 900 Hills' shops

Devlin claimed there was little evidence that gambling was a public health issue, but said the activity was "now in a box with tobacco as an activity which is not to be regulated and taxed but maybe to be banned altogether in time".

He added William Hill accepted their responsibility to protect the vulnerable, and went on: "We do need racing's support to prove that betting remains a fun leisure product to be enjoyed in moderation and in control."

However, he did warn the sport that the company had a responsibility to its shareholders and that Hills' focus was increasingly swinging to the United States.

Devlin added: "It is difficult for me to make the case in these circumstances to prioritise British racing, which is a wonderful product, over the growth opportunities that are available in America, the land of the free.

"If I'm honest, we didn't always quite get the support we needed from racing over the FOBT debate, but racing needs a healthy betting industry.

"I want to assure you we actively want to work with racing to collaborate and promote this great British product on a global stage, and I would encourage everybody in this room to get our act together towards that goal."

Devlin would have received some encouragement on that score from new BHA chair Annamarie Phelps's speech at the ROA annual meeting, as she told the audience that "we must do all we can to help them [the betting industry] to promote fair and safe betting as they come under further scrutiny".

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