This week brought news of an unprecedented strike in British Horse Racing. All fixtures on Wednesday, 10 September, have been rescheduled, leaving a completely blank day on the domestic front. Of course, this is not a strike in the traditional sense. Those who work in the industry will continue to supply the 365-day-a-year care required by racehorses, but the number of competitive British races on that day will number precisely zero.
Organised by the British Horseracing Authority, Jockey Club, and Arena Racing Company, this development is the latest incident in the ongoing controversy surrounding a proposed change to the way in which betting on racing is taxed.
The Proposed Change
At present, remote betting on sports, including horse racing, is subject to a 15% betting duty. The respective rate for games of chance, including roulette and slots, is 21%. It is feared that under the latest review, racing will be grouped together with the games of chance and the higher 21% rate.
“We are more than just a sport, we are a cherished part of British culture.”
BHA Chief Executive Brant Dunshea spoke to @BBCr4today about why British racing should be taxed differently to other forms of gambling
Find out more: https://t.co/J7G8wlI7CL#AxeTheRacingTax pic.twitter.com/acGua14h6U
— British Horseracing Authority (@BHAHorseracing) August 18, 2025
If racing is subjected to this higher rate, the cost to the industry is estimated to be around £66 million per year. A huge sum of money at any time and potentially devastating in an era when taxes have already been raised, and of increasing costs, racecourse closures, and fierce competition in the entertainment industry.
Any tax increase will be sharply felt by both industry workers and punters. Racing’s employees could find their very livelihood affected. For punters, increased taxation may result in a less attractive product, with bookmakers driven to increase betting margins and remove special offers and promotions on the sport. Many experts express concern that a less attractive product will see punters turn to the black market – a realm which affords no player-protection and returns nothing to the treasury, or the sport of racing.
Why Is Betting on Racing Different?
Proponents of the tax increase argue that all forms of gambling should be subject to the same taxation. Horse racing’s supporters suggest that betting on racing is markedly different from wagering on the spins of a slot machine or roulette wheel.
Slots, roulette, and similar games are designed to be completely random. As such, they are considered games of pure chance. Horse racing, in contrast, is a competitive sport, with years of history, form lines, breeding analysis, track bias, etc. – all of which allow punters to place an informed bet. It is relatively easy to make a logical case for why you think a horse may win a race. Explaining why number 5 will pay out on the roulette wheel can never be based on such logical foundations.
Perhaps more importantly, study after study has shown that casino gaming enjoys a much stronger correlation with problem gambling than horse racing. Putting the chance element to one side, a significant reason for this is the frequency of the betting events. On a busy Saturday in Britain, there may be up to 50 races spread over the course of the afternoon and evening. When playing slots online, a punter can place around 75 bets in the space of three minutes. It is possible that failing to differentiate racing from casino games could drive punters towards a more harmful form of gambling.
A Huge Industry
In 2025, horse racing employs around 85,000 individuals in Britain, is worth £4.1 billion, and contributes £300 million in tax revenue to the economy. In many rural areas, the sport is essential to the local community, with income earned from racing trickling down to other businesses. In towns like Newmarket, Lambourn, Middleham, and Malton, horse racing directly shaped the growth, economy, and identity of the community. When considered in this light, it is easy to agree that racing should not be equated with the virtual casino gaming arena.
Leading trainer John Gosden summed up the potential result of failing to distinguish between racing and casino gaming when stating:
“If you want to kill communities and create a lot of unemployment, if they do what they’re talking about, that’s exactly what will happen.”
September 10: A Rare Blank Day
Racing’s blank day sees the afternoon meetings at Carlisle, Lingfield, and Uttoxeter, and the evening fixture from Kempton moved elsewhere on the September racing calendar. It is estimated that the move will cost the industry around £200,000. However, if the blank day has the desired effect of increasing the opposition to the tax increase, that will be a price worth paying.
❌ British Racing is taking the unprecedented decision to cancel fixtures on Wednesday 10 September in protest at the Government’s racing tax plans.
Full details: https://t.co/rVJTQ6Kxid #AxeTheRacingTax pic.twitter.com/HtJ1Izoc9m
— British Horseracing Authority (@BHAHorseracing) August 17, 2025
Announcing the move, BHA Acting Chief Executive Brant Dunshea said:
“We’ve decided to take the unprecedented decision to cancel our planned fixtures on September 10 to highlight to the government the serious consequences of the Treasury’s tax proposals, which threaten the very future of our sport.”
Axe the Racing Tax
In the absence of any domestic racing on 10 September, industry leaders, trainers, owners, and jockeys are expected to head to Westminster for an Axe The Racing Tax event, designed to draw further attention to the issue.
British racing faces an unprecedented threat – a tax raid which could see it lose £66 million a year and tip it into irreversible decline. We need to stop the racing tax before it’s too late.
✍️ Click below to sign the petition to #AxeTheRacingTax and help save our sport ⤵️
— British Horseracing Authority (@BHAHorseracing) July 28, 2025
Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace summed up many of the arguments when stating:
“Unlike online casino games, racing makes an enormous contribution to society and employment, has vastly different rates of gambling-related harm and is not available every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day.”
An online petition supporting the Axe The Racing Tax movement has already moved past the 10,000-signature mark and that number will surely rise significantly as the issue gains more publicity.
