The UK government has decided not to change the Horserace Betting Levy, ending a review that had dragged on well past its original timetable. Ministers said the levy will stay at 10% and confirmed they will not extend it to bets placed on overseas racing.
The decision is a setback for British racing, which had pushed for a higher return from betting and argued that the current system leaves the sport trailing rival jurisdictions. The British Horseracing Authority reacted angrily on Tuesday, saying the process had taken almost three years to deliver no change.
Ministers say tax changes make this the wrong time
In its written statement, the government said recent gambling tax changes were a key reason for leaving the levy alone. Ministers said they wanted to give the gambling sector “stability and certainty” and did not think it was the right time to pursue legislation on the levy rate.
The same statement also ruled out bringing overseas racing into scope. The government said the current levy, together with existing commercial arrangements, already reflects the relationship between betting and British racing.
Racing says the sport is still underpaid
The BHA said the outcome ignores a widening gap between the cost of staging the sport and the money that comes back from betting. Chief executive Brant Dunshea said British racing had worked with government in good faith and supplied evidence showing that the current return no longer matches the demands placed on the sport.
He also pointed to the sport’s position against overseas rivals. According to the BHA, British racing receives less than 3% from gambling, compared with 7.7% in France and 8.4% in Ireland.
The levy stays in place, but the row will not disappear
The levy still applies at 10% to bookmakers with annual gross profits on British horseracing above £500,000. Last year’s yield was £108 million, up from £105 million a year earlier, while the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s latest annual report put the 2024-25 figure at almost £109 million.
That means racing keeps the current system, but without the uplift it had wanted. The government says it still backs the sport. Racing, though, is left with the same complaint it had before the review ended: betting taxes have moved, but the levy has not.
