Refinancing British horseracing

British horseracing is currently materially contracting with massive job losses throughout the industry. There are also long-term overseas earnings losses. This will continue after Covid-19.

The only means of stemming this needless decline is an extension of the Tote’s monopoly. Bookmakers will not respond favourably to a radical increase in betting levy to achieve a significant uplift in prize money (perhaps 100%+ is needed right now). Therefore, there must be a tote monopoly in respect of bets taken in, say, the last few minutes before the advertised time of a race. This would require changes to the current legal framework.

Fortunately, recent years have seen the emergence of betting platforms which can very economically accommodate the volume of bets which these changes would necessitate. For instance, the levy could (and probably should) be as little as 1% of turnover for large bets and perhaps 10% on bets under £100. This would enable a strong and reliable market and open a multi-currency option to attract overseas-based betters. There would be massive export opportunities arising once the British version of a Tote monopoly is established.