affordability checks

If you follow Alan Delmonte on Twitter or X, or whatever they call it these days, you will know him for his offbeat sense of humour. But as chief executive of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) for the past 11 years, he has one of the most serious jobs in British racing, overseeing the distribution of around £100m a year. Delmonte is, to some extent, the sport's Chancellor of the Exchequer, but there is an awful lot of important work going on behind the scenes at the Levy Board that make...

The British Horseracing Authority has welcomed the "valuable contributions" made by several ministers in Monday's parliamentary debate into affordability checks. It was the first chance for MPs to properly interrogate proposals of the implementation of the supposedly "frictionless" checks after 100,000 people signed an e-petition to trigger the debate. Matt Hancock, who has Newmarket within his constituency, Connor McGinn, whose St Helens North constituency includes Haydock, and Philip Davies were among MPs to lay out arguments against the checks during the debate at Westminster Hall. The BHA's chief executive Julie...

After the required 100,000-signature mark was reached on a petition to review the proposed implementation of affordability checks, a debate on the subject will be held on Feb. 26, the British government's Petitions Committee announced. The petition was originally launched by Jockey Club chief executive Nevin Truesdale. British Horseracing Authority (BHA) chief executive Julie Harrington said in a statement, "We are pleased that the important issue of affordability checks will now be subjected to proper levels of parliamentary scrutiny. "The fact that our survey reached the required 100,000 signatures threshold...

These are challenging times for British punters. If you win too much, your bookmaker could shut you down. If you lose too much, the state might send Big Brother in. This pincer of control and interference in online betting is weirdly at odds with the UK's economic culture, which favours deregulation and free markets - often to society's cost. The way power works, you will hear a lot more about the Gambling Commission's proposed affordability checks than you will bookmaking conglomerates restricting how much punters can stake - and the...

Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF) Chair Sean Trivass led a delegation from the HBF and met with Stuart Andrew MP, the minister with responsibility for the Gambling Act Review, on Wednesday. Discussions included topics such as account closures and restrictions, the protection of funds, and terms and conditions, but focused primarily on affordability checks and their potential consequences for bettors and the horse racing industry in the UK. The HBF urged the minister to ensure affordability checks had no negative consequences on an individual's crediworthiness. Andrews was receptive to the suggestion...

   The following statement was issued by the tripartite group of the British Horseracing Authority, The Horsemen's Group and the Racecourse Association. It addresses the groups liaison with the Gambling Commission about the prospect of affordability checks and its potential impact on the industry. It also touches on the group's work around the Winter Survival Fund, other concerns related to the recovery from COVID and the Levy. Horse racing leaders have expressed their deep concern about the potential impact from the introduction of 'affordability' thresholds for online betting customers. The...