SPORTS BETTING
UK – British horseracing betting levy income to fall by 17.5 per cent in 2021
By Phil - 12 May 2021
The Horserace Betting Levy Board has said that the levy income for the year ended March 31 2021 will be around £80m, on the basis of provisional submissions to date from most Levy-paying bookmakers, including all of the largest operators.
This likely outturn is at the midpoint of the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s (HBLB) most recent estimated range of £76m to £85m, which was updated regularly through the year following its own analysis and from information provided voluntarily by major bookmakers.
HBLB Chairman Paul Darling commented: “There was no British racing for the first two months of the Levy year and it was far from certain when racing resumed in June 2020 as to what the level of betting activity would be in the months that followed. We have also seen Licensed Betting Offices either closed completely for parts of the year or open with restrictions.
“Since June, we have attempted to balance on the one hand our desire to commit substantial extra support for the sport from our reserves with, on the other hand, the uncertainty around our own ongoing future income.
“We spent £96m in the past Levy year, providing around 50% more to prize money than normal in recent months, as well as £3m towards costs of new regulatory measures to ensure that the sport can take place in accordance with Covid-19 protocols. It is to the credit of all those involved that fixtures have taken place without interruption since June.
“On the basis of £80m income, our reserves at the end of the 2020/21 Levy year stood at just over £40m. This will give us the flexibility to consider further significant investment in the months ahead, as the Board has had in mind the importance of having sufficient resources for the recovery phase from Covid-19.”
Caption: HBLB Chairman Paul Darling
