UK racing making out like bandits under new betting Levy scheme

The UK’s racing industry is raking in record sums after the government rejigged the mandatory race betting Levy to compel contributions from online gambling operators.

On Friday, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Horsemen’s Group and Racecourse Association agreed on the structure of a new body that will oversee responsibility for the distribution of Levy proceeds as of April 2019.

In January 2017, the UK government announced that it would dismantle the Horserace Betting Levy Board while confirming plans to require all betting operators — particularly the internationally-based betting sites of UK companies – to contribute 10% of their race betting revenue to the Levy scheme.

The new Levy setup was expected to dramatically up racing’s share of betting revenue and the BHA’s Friday announcement confirms that assumption. While the old Levy brought in £54.5m for racing in 2015-16, the BHA said it expects the 2017-18 haul “will exceed £90 million and possibly reach £95 million.”