Labour Discover collectively behold and chair of Premier Greyhound Racing, Lord Lipsey, slammed the authorities’s proposed affordability exams for their seemingly results on greyhound racing.
Lord Lipsey argued that the exams – as they’re currently being contemplated by the Gambling Commission – will work to distress greyhound racing by imposing intrusive exams on excessive-spend customers, which he argues will then “merely disappear”.
The historical Economist’s Bagehot columnist highlighted the voluntary levy on bookmakers which helps enhance British greyhound racing. The British Greyhound Racing Fund collects the levy. Most bookmakers in the sport pay it as a voluntary contribution.
Greyhound levy supports dog welfare
Lipsey said the majority (51.4%) of cash raised by the levy goes in direction of the British Greyhound Racing Fund (BGRF). One other 19% heads in direction of law, Lipsey persevered.
He added that the levy’s entire has been declining in exact terms for the previous decade. The total has fallen in inflation-adjusted figures from £11m in 2012-13 to £8.2m in July 2023.
“Premier Greyhound Racing has no honest proof on the affect of the proposed crackdown on affordability proposed by the Commission,” said Lipsey. “On the different hand, greyhound racing, worship horse racing, has some heavy hitter punters who would plausibly be place off making a bet on greyhounds if they were topic to onerous affordability exams.”
Lipsey pointed to his have experience making an strive to space bets as a Politically Exposed Person. He said it took 32 emails being exchanged before he used to be in a assign to defend up his account.
He added that – while he had bought assurances from ministers that the exams would be seamless – the Commission’s session paper admits 2%-3% of punters would be topic to intrusive exams.
“These will almost by definition be the mountainous punters,” said Lipsey. “Colossal punters are a combination of those with gambling considerations and folks that proper come by pleasure from an proper bet. Greyhound racing worship horseracing has completed all the pieces it’ll to abet safer making a bet.
“Nevertheless if the Gambling Commission insists on probing mountainous punters, they’re going to merely disappear. Some will crawl to the black market. Some will see their kicks in diverse locations.”
Debate around affordability exams rages on
Lipsey’s feedback are the most modern contributions to the increasingly contentious debate around proposed affordability exams.
These are on the total also termed monetary distress exams. The authorities proposed the measures in the Gambling Act evaluate white paper. The white paper place the offer out to a session, which closed the previous day.
As contemplated in the white paper, “laborious” exams could possibly well possibly kick in with a £1,000 spend in 24 hours or £2,000 in 90 days.
These have proved considerably controversial in the racing sector and proceed sections of British politics. Several MPs have written conception objects criticising the measures.
A minor controversy erupted in September, when Commission executive director Tim Miller rapid at some stage in an look at the DCMS gambling law defend shut out committee that punter postcodes would affect these exams.
In a recent speech, Commission chief Andrew Rhodes hit relief at what he known as “misinformation” in the media about affordability exams.
