Irish Angle panel react to BHA Strike Action Racing should be concerned about the new betting tax proposed by the British government but the September 10 strike is likely to have little impact. That is the view of panelists Johnny Ward and Emma Nagle, speaking on irishracing.com’s Irish Angle show this week. The British Horse Racing Authority confirmed last week that four scheduled fixtures at Carlisle, Uttoxeter, Lingfield and Kempton will not take place. It comes in response to proposals to replace the three-tax structure of online gambling with a single tax which would see the 15 per cent duty on racing increased to 21 per cent. The ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ campaign warns that millions of pounds and thousands of jobs could be lost as a result of the plan. Concerns Are Real “I would be concerned from the perspective of racing about this betting tax,” racing journalist Johnny Ward explained. “I don't really know if either the British or Irish jurisdictions, in terms of this government, understand how much betting is changing. “In terms of our own gambling regulator here [in Ireland], people don't understand the perils facing racing on betting from affordability checks, and the general lack of turnover. “The betting on racing is not guaranteed going forward, and people are increasingly betting on other sports, and bookmakers are increasingly running away from it or are just not really caring about it very much anymore. Questioning The Stats “According to the British Horse Racing Authority, they say 85,000 jobs are supported by the industry in the UK,” explained irishracing.com editor Vincent Finegan. “We think it's something like 30-odd thousand here, according to Horse Racing Ireland's Deloitte report. “Out of that 85,000 in the UK, up to a few minutes ago when I checked their petition, they've got 10 and a half thousand signatures. So, it's not that big a deal for the people in the industry yet. “According to the BHA, they're saying in the first year alone, if this tax comes in, it'll put 2,752 jobs at risk. So, that's a huge amount of people in the UK straight away, out of their 85,000 gone in a year. They're saying in five years, it could be £330 million of revenue gone.” The Feeling On The Ground Emma Nagle, who works in Paddy Twomey’s yard, explained that the strike will only catch the attention of those in the sport, and not the British government. “I'm not going to say the majority, but a lot of those working in yards and working in various jobs in racing probably won't be totally aware of what's going on. A lot of people probably won't read these articles. It wouldn’t be something that interests them particularly. “When I saw the news of the protest first, my initial thoughts were: Is missing a day of racing going to affect the government? Are they going to take that much notice? Maybe not. “Maybe the point you're making, that people don't know what's going on, it'll maybe bring to the attention of the people working in racing. There's a blank day in the calendar in England — the stable staff, the jockeys who might not have been taking note of this before, might get more involved in the lobbying process that the BHA are trying to raise with the government. “You get the feeling that bookmakers are maybe losing interest in racing anyway because it's not going to be as profitable as other forms of betting for them, so it's not their main focus, whereas once it might have been, and this definitely will not help — this extra tax on top of it.” Watch The Full Irish Angle Show
