Flutter UK and Ireland’s strategic racing director has pushed back on separate wallets for horseracing and tax hikes against other sports as he insisted the operator is a “firm backer” of the sport.
Writing in the Racing Post today, 21 July, Sebastian Butterworth said Flutter is a “passionate and huge supporter of British horseracing” but that tax hike calls for other verticals could put the sport at risk.
As part of the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA) ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ campaign, the governing body called for the sport to be taxed at a “different and lower rate to all other forms of betting”.
The suggestion comes as the Treasury concludes on its consultation into a single gaming duty in the UK, replacing the three-tiered structure currently in place.
Horseracing and sports are taxed at 15%, while online casino faces a 21% levy. The newly combined tax is expected to be at least 21%, bringing sports and horseracing in line with casino.
Butterworth wrote: “We would agree with almost every point the BHA is making. Where we would disagree, is the tacit suggestion that, in order to shield racing, Chancellor Rachel Reeves should increase the betting duty on other sports from 15% and push through an eyewatering increase in gaming duty from the current 21%.
“Defending gaming isn’t to the detriment of racing, which absolutely remains a core part of Flutter’s offer. But we simply believe the government would be wrong to put up duty on any form of racing.”
Butterworth added that a hike in the 21% rate to 42%, as suggested by some think tanks, would cost the industry around £1bn, leading to “significant job losses” across the sector.
He suggested a hike in gaming duty would threaten horseracing’s funding and see more consumers move towards the black market.
Away from tax hikes, some reformists have suggested a separate wallet for horseracing customers, especially in the fallout from the affordability check saga that has gripped the UK market.
The general theory that horseracing punters are at less risk than those playing online casino games, was refuted by Butterworth.
He noted: “There is talk of separate wallets and ring-fencing racing from the activities on the other side of our business, as though tennis and online bingo are somehow beneath those who much prefer to head to Thirsk or Sandown in search of winnings.
“The businesses are not separate. An increasing proportion of revenue in racing across Flutter comes from customers who initially bet on other products, be that football or slots.”
He added that around one of third of those who sign up to Paddy Power and Sky Bet each year to engage with igaming end up betting on horseracing.
Butterworth concluded: “We want to work with the sport to promote, preserve and provide the funding that will secure its long-term future for generations to come.
“A tax rise won’t help achieve that goal – be that on racing, other sports or gaming. It won’t make racing more sustainable, and it will reduce the amount of money available for the gambling sector to invest.”
The Treasury’s consultation into a potential combined duty closes tonight at 11.59pm.
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Sebastian Butterworth says increased levy could reduce funding for horseracing, as he dismisses suggestion of separate wallets for the sport with Treasury consultation into tax nearing its end
The post Flutter UKI racing director: Online casino tax hike would hurt the sport first appeared on EGR Intel.