Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross has emphasised how British racing plays a “crucial role” as part of the country’s sporting culture and heritage.
This was said during a speech at the recently re-formed APPG for Racing and Bloodstock’s New Year drinks reception at the House of Commons this week, hosted by Co-Chair Dan Carden MP and sponsored by the BHA, the Jockey Club, Arena Racing Company and the Racecourse Association.
Twycross went on to describe the sport as “a major asset to this country, both domestically but also internationally”. She also stressed that she and the Government “want to see racing continue to thrive.”
In detail, the Minister urged the racing and betting industries to work together to promote British racing to new audiences, saying “it’s really important that the betting and racing industries continue joint work, such as on a growth fund for the longevity of the sport.
“This is quite simply the quickest way to get increased funding flowing back into racing.”
She also recognised concerns about the existing financial checks conducted by operators on bettors, saying that “financial risk checks need to be and can be proportionate,” and adding that she believes a system of “frictionless, near instantaneous checks” is possible.
Moreover, in a separate speech BHA Chair Joe Saumarez Smith also spoke about the vital role that racing plays in Britain.
He added: “British racing is more than just a sport. It is a cultural asset, one of our great soft power levers, with races including the Derby, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and the Grand National revered and envied around the world.
“Secretary of State Lisa Nandy was right when she described Britain’s cultural assets – including sport – as ‘lights on the hill’. And racing is surely one of the brightest of those lights.”
However, he emphasised that the sport faces ‘significant financial headwinds’, outlining how the sport has been hit hard in recent years by the regime of affordability checks conducted by betting operators.
Almost two years after the previous government published its White Paper on gambling, he said that “it is hard not to feel that repeated warnings from racing have not been taken seriously enough or the views of punters properly considered.”
With racing and betting unable to reach a mutually agreeable resolution on Levy negotiations, he stated that “now is the time for the Government to take decisive action to reform the Levy and ensure that British racing can continue to be a world-leading industry.”
He ended his speech by calling on the Government to cherish British racing for all the good it can do for Britain, having set out the enormous economic and social contribution that the sport makes.