FOBT curbs could be a good reason to work with bookies, racing told

Racing should foster relations with the betting industry to help ensure the sport regains its place as the most important product for high street bookmakers following government curbs on "socially dubious" FOBTs, the sport was told on Tuesday.

A message from Racehorse Owners Association president Nicholas Cooper to the body's annual meeting in London said that the sport should maintain a common voice and not go back to the "bad old days" of factionalism among racing's constituents.

Cooper acknowledged that betting shops are likely to close as a result of the government's decision to reduce FOBT maximum stakes to £2, but said many in the sport had been uncomfortable about racing's reliance on the controversial machines.

He said: "We know that every time a betting shop closes, racing loses income and exposure. But many of us have long felt uneasy about supporting a socially dubious type of gambling to keep betting shops open so that racing's revenue can be maintained.

"When the importance of FOBTs to betting shops diminishes, we may also feel reassured from knowing that horseracing, for so long the staple diet of the betting shop punter, may well return to being the bookmakers' most important betting product. Good reason, then, for us to foster the best possible relationship with the betting industry to our mutual benefit."

FOBTs: their diminishing importance to shops could see a resurgence for horseracing

Cooper hailed last year's reform of the levy and the resulting boost to prize-money as the result of unity in the horseracing industry.

He said: "It's amazing what you can do when you work together and particularly when you can work with a government that listens to your concerns and acts on them, as this government has done. It is no accident that a unified voice in racing has led to this government's receptivity.

"I'm sure everybody realises we simply cannot go back to the bad old days of racing administration when all the factions were at loggerheads, when we spent more time arguing among ourselves than concentrating on our common goals and successive governments simply lost patience with us."

Cooper reiterated hopes he voiced in the ROA's annual report published last month that an agreement could be reached between the racecourse pool betting project Britbet and Betfred and their new partners in the Tote, the Alizeti consortium.

"The prospect of pool betting gaining a proper foothold in this country will surely improve significantly if the already very weak liquidity of tote pools is not divided further between competing suppliers," Cooper said.

"There are obvious and compelling reasons for the two major contenders in this area to come together and we must hope their current discussions leads to an agreement in the autumn."

He added: "Achieving a significant increase in UK pool betting is going to be difficult under any circumstances but much more difficult unless the main players agree to collaborate. We must urge them to do so."

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