The UK’s Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has confirmed a misalignment between the statutory levy paid and betting turnover in British horse racing.
In its annual report, which covers the period between April 2024 and March 2025, the Levy Board highlighted that the statutory Levy paid by horse racing bookmakers climbed to £108.9m – the highest since 2017, up from the £105.3m in 2023/2024.
However, bets placed continued to drag total betting turnover down for a third consecutive year. HBLB Interim Chair, Anne Lambert, confirmed that betting turnover per race decreased by 8% YoY compared to 2023/24, by 15% compared to 2022/23, and by 19% when pitted against 2021/22.
This decline in participation became one of the main arguments in the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA) #AxeTheRacingTax campaign against further tax increases ahead of the 26 November UK Budget announcement.
The campaign proved successful after Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced that only the Remote Gaming Duty and Machine Gaming Duty will go up, leaving horseracing taxed at 25% – a rate that was higher than that of the former two prior to the Budget’s announcement.
Jack Barton, Policy and Advocacy Manager of the BHA, echoed Lambert’s sentiment when reflecting on the November Budget’s outcome.
“It was clear that the sport’s future could be at risk without a compelling evidence case against the proposals, supported by a visible and impactful public campaign against harmonisation,” Barton said.
“Fortunately, as has been demonstrated time and again in recent years, when our industry pulls together, it has a powerful voice.”
In his statement, Barton expressed further gratitude to the Treasury for recognising British horse racing’s unique position in the UK gambling landscape as a sport that is deeply embroiled into the fabric of British culture.
There was also some positive news coming out of the HBLB report, which registered “higher than anticipated” bookmaker gross profits across February and March and leading to total income pushing though the expected threshold.
Income was up to £113m from the £108.7m in 2023/24, boosted by interest on cash deposits that drove reserves to £58.7m. Grant expenditure was higher than the previous year, with £66.9m going to prize money in 2024, £19.4m to regulations and integrity, and £7.9m invested into staff recruitment and training, racehorse retraining, and nation-wide promotions.
As part of HBLB’s obligations to improve the quality of the sport, which include equine health and welfare maintenance and veterinary innovation, the Board allocated a further £2.3m to veterinary research and infectious disease programmes, with a £200,000 grant provided by the Racing Foundation.
For 2026, HBLB will increase its grant expenditure to provide £4.4m extra for prize money and £1.2m more for regulatory incentives. However, management confirmed that the Board remains wary of the falling turnover rate and increasing Levy going into the new year.