THOUSANDS of jobs will be axed and racecourses face closure if Rachel Reeves hikes gambling taxes, campaigners warn.
The industry fears being stung for £66 million with communities ripped apart if horse racing doesn’t receive an exemption from increased levies.
Racing industry demand Chancellor Rachel Reeves acts to stop punishing taxes falling on the sector following consultationAlamy
Racing’s finances will be brutally damaged if the current 15 per cent duty rate is harmonised with online casino-style games, which currently stands at 21 per cent.
Tory MP Nick Timothy, who represents Newmarket, said: “Racing is part of who we are.
“It is an essential part of our national sporting story. It is vital that the Government recognises that.
“Without an exemption for horseracing from the harmonisation plans, Britain’s second-largest spectator sport and a cherished part of the social fabric of our communities will suffer great harm.”
A consultation closed yesterday on how to consolidate a three-tier system into a single tax for online gambling called the Remote Betting and Gaming Duty.
The warning shot to Chancellor Rachel Reeves from the industry is fired ahead of Glorious Goodwood meeting which kicks off a week today.
The sector supports more than 85,000 jobs and contributes more than £4 billion to the economy, research shows.
Meanwhile, a new survey has found that almost a third of punters would switch to the gambling black market if the tax hike forced legal operators to withdraw offers and promotions.
The illegal operators can offer better odds as they don’t have to pay the tax or support the sport.
Betting and Gaming Council boss Grainne Hurst said: “Punters are clear, get the balance on tax and regulation wrong and you hand a competitive advantage to the black market where operators pay no tax, contribute nothing to British sport, and offer no safer gambling protections.
“The gambling black market is growing and actively targeting UK customers.
“Any tax rise, whether on betting or gaming, makes that offer more attractive and puts more players at risk. Any tax hike would be catastrophic.
“This would put thousands of jobs and millions in investment at risk, while threatening the future of all sports that rely on regulated betting for funding – from racing and football to rugby league, darts and snooker.”
Meanwhile, Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: “If the Government goes ahead with this smash-and-grab tax raid it will have a disastrous impact on the cherished national institution that is British horseracing.
“As we gear up for one of the biggest weeks in our calendar the Government simply must understand that its proposed tax bombshell will hammer the country’s second most watched sport.
“In a worst-case scenario thousands of jobs will be lost, racecourses may have to close and the future of some of our most iconic races will hang in the balance.
“MPs with any kind of racing activity in their constituency should also understand that it is their voters’ livelihoods that are at risk if there is any increase in taxes on horserace betting.
“They need to all be getting behind the campaign to axe the racing tax. Or face the consequences at the ballot box.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We are consulting on bringing the treatment of online betting in line with other forms of online gambling to cut down bureaucracy – it is not about increasing or decreasing rates, and we welcome views from all stakeholders including businesses, trade bodies, the third sector and individuals.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
