Betfred Honour Promise Of Ditching British Classics Sponsorship

Betfred will walk away from sponsoring all five British Classics following Labour’s tax raid. In last week’s Budget delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, the Machine Games Duty (MGD) rate on Category B machines rose from 20% to 25%.

Despite the increase not being as bad as initially feared, it has had a sobering effect on horseracing. And Betfred, who have been ardent supporters of British racing, have ditched its partnership ties.

Tax pressure piles up

Inevitably, the tax raids carried out by the UK government over the past 12 months have hit betting companies hard. Last year, the then-Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced remote gaming duty (RGD) paid on online casino bets would almost double from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY), and this came into effect in April.

Meanwhile, as of April next year, general betting duty paid on online sports bets will climb from 15% to 25% of GGY, but racing will be exempt. Nevertheless, in the run-up to this year’s Budget, Betfred co-founder Fred Done had warned about the untold consequences of how a rise in MGD could obliterate the industry.

Yes, he suggested that if the Budget went against Betfred, then they would be forced to ditch sponsorship of all British Classics. Intriguingly, Done came good on his word, but the chickens have come home to roost.

Hands tied behind their back

Leading up to the Budget, Betfred’s projections indicated that an MGD rise to 25% would see 284 of its remaining 1,094 retail estate become loss makers, putting 1,420 jobs at risk. Done had lamented the Government’s fiscal actions, phrasing it as a “raid by the new morality police”.

But Betfred ultimately had their hands tied behind their back with sponsoring the British Classics, as a spokesperson said: “Following successive tax rises for the betting industry - and in particular the increase to machine games duty at the most recent Budget - it is with great sadness that we have taken the decision not to proceed with a three-year renewal of our sponsorship of the British Classics.

“It is not a decision we wanted to make, but the cumulative cost of government policy has left us with no choice.”

Conversations for replacement held

Betfred had been a proud partner for the British Classics since 2023. Originally, it sponsored the St Leger at Doncaster in 2023 before fronting the Derby and Oaks in 2024.

The year later, it added the 2000 and 1000 Guineas to its portfolio, becoming the first bookie to sponsor all races.

Although the Jockey Club, one of the UK’s largest commercial racing organisations were despondent about the news, they hinted they are holding talks to find a replacement.

Amy Starkey, who runs Epsom as managing director of the Jockey Club’s London hub, said: “While we are naturally disappointed that Betfred have taken the decision not to renew sponsorship of the Derby and the Guineas festival at Newmarket, we understand their reasons for doing so and know this was not an easy decision for them.

“We are currently in conversations with a number of interested prospective partners that share our ambitions for the future of both events, and look forward to sharing more details in due course.”

Sponsorship deals falling away

Earlier this month, figures revealed that bookie sponsorship of British racing had plunged by as much as 17%. Racing has been on the rails, but Betfred, which ended its long-term sponsorship of the Super League, are entering a bold era. More cuts, it seems, are likely.