BHA opens talks with bookmakers and government following Levy funding drop
Racing governing body discussing whether return to turnover-based system could help reduce funding variance
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has opened talks with bookmakers and the government around ways to refine the current Levy system to help reduce the uncertainty about its annual funding, EGR understands.
The Horserace Betting Levy Board announced last week that Levy take had fallen by £17m to £78m in the year to 31 March, due in part to a run of punter-friendly results in Q1 2019.
A spokesperson for the sport’s leadership comprising the BHA, racecourses and Horsemen’s Group, said it was “shocked” by the figures, with the BHA now assessing how it can reduce this kind of variance in future.
The BHA has been in initial discussions with bookmakers to understand what has happened and if there are any wider systemic issues which may have contributed to the fall in yield.
Regulus Partners noted last week that racing turnover was very strong and some of the downturn was driven by the deliberately low margins adopted on horseracing by some operators.
Discussions are also underway between the government and the BHA, with the DCMS having been clear it would be open to a review of the Levy system before 2024 if significant market changes occurred.
One option could see the Levy calculated at least partly on a turnover basis to avoid the fluctuations associated with a revenue calculation.
A turnover-based Levy has been proposed by racing stakeholders before for similar reasons.
The BHA is also working with bookmakers to boost betting on racing in other ways including more lunchtime racing and more runners per race.
William Hill’s director of corporate communications Ciaran O’Brien said discussion about changing the levy were premature.
“The last Levy yielded 5% more than was expected under the new system so comparisons have to be set against that positive result and also account for other factors like sporting results. It is far too early to call for changes to the system as a result of one year’s results set against a bumper year.”