Tax raid 'a real threat to racing'

RACHEL Reeves has been warned that an “attack on racing is an attack on the countryside”.

- By David Williamson CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR

The Chancellor risks wreaking havoc in rural communities if she launches a tax raid which threatens the future of horse racing, campaigners have stressed.

Proposals to tax online bets on races at the same rate as online slots and gaming have triggered cross-party condemnation and appalled the industry.

It is feared bookmakers will step back from promoting the sport if duty is hiked from 15% to 21%, with devastating consequences for racing in the UK.

An industry insider said bookmakers would have an incentive to push customers to software-based “games of chance rather than horse-race betting because they’ll just get a better return”.

Running a book on horse racing, he said, is “incredibly labour intensive” compared with operating an online casino.