Revealed: the real cost of the huge fall in racing betting turnover

Online betting turnover on horseracing fell by the equivalent of £1.75 billion in the last financial year, wiping tens of millions from media rights deals with bookmakers and illustrating the scale of the sport's funding black hole, analysis by the Racing Post has revealed. The latest Gambling Commission statistics showed online turnover on racing in 2022-23 was £9.12bn, a fall of around £900 million on the previous 12 months. However, when inflation is taken into account, which betting on the sport had previously closely tracked, turnover would have been expected to hit £10.87bn, £1.75bn higher than the actual figure.

The sharp fall in turnover on racing coincided with the widespread introduction of  affordability checks  by bookmakers acting under Gambling Commission pressure and before the implementation of measures included in the government's gambling white paper, which include 'financial risk checks' the sport fears will result in a further decline in betting turnover as punters facing checks stop betting   or turn to the black market .

In contrast to the sharp decline in turnover, gross gambling yield (GGY), the profit retained by bookmakers after winnings have been paid out, rose in line with inflation in 2022-23, indicating that operators increased their margins to maintain profitability despite falling turnover. This resulted in the levy yield remaining stable, but means less money is returned to those betting on the sport, raising concerns that racing is becoming a less appealing product.

READ MORE:  www.racingpost.com/news/britain/revealed...rnover-a8rwu5W3rCRF/