{"id":2013,"date":"2020-12-31T09:32:16","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T09:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/?p=2013"},"modified":"2020-12-31T09:32:16","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T09:32:16","slug":"horse-racing-levy-to-be-reviewed-3-years-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/horse-racing-levy-to-be-reviewed-3-years-early\/","title":{"rendered":"Horse Racing Levy to be Reviewed 3 Years Early"},"content":{"rendered":"
It’s been a rough year for sports betting in general, but for horse racing the going has been particularly hard.<\/p>\n
The sport has been struggling with physical attendance at race tracks for years, with on course bookies reporting lower and lower takings outside of the really big meetings.<\/p>\n
The COVID hit, reducing attendance to zero. Those who rely on punters turning up to the races to make their living must have been wondering if this was finally the end, but a welcome Government announcement earlier this month may send them into the new year with more hope.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The review of the horse racing levy was always going to take place, but it has been brought forward by 3 years as part of the industry’s recovery plan.<\/p>\n
The British Horse Racing Authority welcomed the announcement, with their Chief Executive, Nick Rust, saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cRacing industry leaders agreed there was an urgent case for reform as part of our plans to recover from Covid-19 and have presented a united front to government. We look forward to working with DCMS officials and ministers to ensure the Levy is sustainable and fit for the digital age.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The review has the potential to secure long term funding for the sport in a number of ways, one of the key changes being a return to a turnover based assessment of payments instead of basing them on a bookmakers’ gross profits.<\/p>\n
This would increase cash flowing back into the industry significantly and help plug the hole left by the closure of race tracks.<\/p>\n
The Damage Done to Horse Racing<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
The owner of courses like Aintree, Cheltenham and Newmarket, Jockey Club Racecourses, have estimated to have lost at least \u00a3100 million so far, but other course owners have yet to put a number on the damage.<\/p>\n