Banning betting ads on racing channels would be a futile experiment that could savage the sport

Plans under the new Gambling Regulation Bill to ban gambling advertising from Irish screens between 5.30am and 9pm simply cannot be applied to Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing. As highlighted on Wednesday, when both broadcasters threatened to quit the country, the consequences of doing so would be catastrophic for the horseracing industry. 

The proposed ban of betting ads offers a blanket approach that treats specialist racing channels in the same way as other terrestrial ones such as RTE or Virgin Media. 

They have very different audiences and Racing TV, which recently won the rights to show action from all 26 Irish racecourses until 2029, is a subscription channel. That in itself means that young or vulnerable viewers are unlikely to stumble across gambling ads. Sky Sports Racing has also stated that 97 per cent of its audience is over the age of 24.