BGC reveals latest member funding figures for British horseracing

The Betting and Gaming Council says its members contributed £455m to British horseracing last year.

It said £125m was spent on marketing including advertisements and sponsorships, as well as broadcast and print coverage.

What’s more, media rights payments, the BGC said, have increased by around £45m to reach £340m in 2022.

The BGC said the figures “dwarf previous estimates on the regulated sector’s direct contribution to horseracing,” which it says had projected an approximate figure of £350m.

The BGC, citing the Horserace Betting Levy Board, said levy payments are set to reach £99m in 2022-23, climbing from £50m in 2016-17.

Michael Dugher, CEO of the BGC, said members in the regulated betting industry are “now paying more towards British horseracing than ever before, despite a 10.3 per cent reduction in betting turnover on racing in the last five years.”

He added: “These figures show that betting continues to bankroll the sport, but it is not a bottomless pit. I know racing, just like any other sport and indeed our own land-based betting and gaming industry, is trying to bounce back post-Covid in the face of seriously challenging economic headwinds – a task made even harder for racing and betting because of the decisions the government deliberately chose to make in its recent white paper.”