Bookmakers, the British Horseracing Authority and leading trainer William Haggas have urged the Government to reconsider new affordability checks proposed by the Gambling Commission.
The enhanced checks, first raised under the previous Government and trialled from 2024, would be implemented once a customer met a proposed net spend threshold of £1,000 per day or £2,000 in 90 days.
The checks are designed to be frictionless, but concerns as to their effectiveness have been raised by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) who claim 120,000 racing punters could be asked to submit personal financial documents to prove they can afford to bet.
The BGC suggests that as many as 96,000 customers would refuse to comply according to current drop-out rates.
BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst told the Racing Post: "The financial risk assessments proposed by the Gambling Commission risk duplicating existing protections while creating significant friction for customers, which will only push more people to the unsafe, illegal black market."
'Without a better solution the illegal market will only grow'
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) echoed fears that these changes will drive more customers away from regulated bookmakers, who could lose up to £700million in revenue according to 2023 Government analysis, and contribute to a growing black market.
Such a loss to revenue would amount to a significant tax deficit.
Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the BHA, said: "Given the recent regulatory and tax changes, I urge the Commission and Government to carefully consider whether the timing is right for this additional layer of regulation.
"Without a better solution the illegal market will only grow, causing more harm, depriving the Government of tens of millions of pounds in lost tax revenue, and sparking widespread job losses across Britain."
William Haggas, one of British racing's most prominent trainers, has also backed calls for a rethink on affordability checks and told The Sun: "Having a flutter on the horses has been part of our way of life for centuries.
"Anything that interferes with that will only damage horseracing, cost jobs and deprive the Government of much-needed tax revenue.
"There is surely no harm in the Government taking the time to look at this again and make sure it gets it right."
A Gambling Commission spokesperson said: "We’re continuing to work on financial risk assessments with one of the key focuses being on removing friction for consumers."
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