Brant Dunshea, the acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, warned on Tuesday that government proposals to harmonise the rates of duty for online betting and casino-style gaming products could cost the industry tens of millions of pounds annually, remove any incentive for gambling firms to focus on racing and increasingly push punters towards illegal operators.
Dunshea said that racing’s governing body is “deeply concerned” by the planned harmonisation, which was initially floated in November 2023 by the former chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt.
