Stricter gambling laws would cause ‘untold damage’ to horse racing, MPs have warned
A PLANNED crackdown on gambling will cause untold damage to British horse racing, ministers will be warned today.
MPs will use a Westminster debate to raise the alarm over proposed affordability checks on gambling-dependent sectors.
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The backlash has increased since the government announced laws to collect the financial data of gamblers who lose as little as £125 a month or £500 a year.
Racing bosses say this could mean a £50m funding loss for the industry.
Analysis shows that this could put many of the 85,000 jobs at the stables and elsewhere at risk.
MP Matt Hancock, whose constituency includes Newmarket in Suffolk, said: “While I fully support efforts to tackle problem gambling, it would be a big mistake to do so.
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“The current plans will cause untold damage to Newmarket and the horse racing industry.”
Former minister George Freeman said affordability checks are “a sledgehammer to crack a nut in terms of the gambling problem”.
He said: “Horse racing is as important to our national story as the pub, the pie and parliament.
“It is the key to our heritage, our rural and national economy and global soft power.
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Jockey Club chief Nevin Truesdale says racing is dependent on revenue from gambling levies.
He claims the checks would “fail to recognize an individual’s personal circumstances”.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “These are lightweight, frictionless checks to protect people from potentially life-changing losses.”
Checks are a crazy gamble
By Matt Chapman, Sun racing expert
IMAGINE a government that decides how to spend your hard-earned money. You wouldn’t tolerate it.
But while we wait for a White Paper on gambling, that scenario is more real than many might imagine.
And that’s why a debate in Parliament today – sparked by a petition with more than 100,000 signatures – is one of the most important ever held in Westminster.
The debate is said to be about affordability checks to protect people from gambling online with money they cannot afford to lose.
But it’s actually about much more than that.
When these checks arrive, the government is essentially saying it will decide how people can spend their money.
The job of an MP should always be to defend your freedom to spend your money as you wish.
People who don’t gamble have a hard time understanding the industry.
The perception of many is that all gambling is bad. But it’s crazy to think that way.
You don’t become a degenerate gambler by placing a bet. Or by buying a lottery ticket.
Many of those who bet on horses, football or dog racing put a lot of time into their selection.
They should be regarded as games of skill.
Regulations need to be tightened through bookmakers’ compliance teams.
Affordability checks are not the way to do this.