BGC Fires Warning Over Grim £500m National Hunt Black Market Forecast

Black market bookies could rake in £500 million from bets placed during the National Hunt campaign, according to the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). The jumps season began in earnest in October and runs through until April.

This weekend marks the Cheltenham November Meeting, and the BGC have claimed the event could chalk up approximately £10 million in bets for rogue sites. And the grim forecast has only strengthened the BGC’s desire to see a clampdown on illegal betting sites.

BGC sound the trumpet again

Representing over 90% of the regulated betting industry, the BGC has routinely championed the cause to protect their interests. The forecast made with regard to horseracing once again illustrated the grave fears presented by black market sites, and the BGC are keen to keep punters out of their grasp.

BGC CEO Grainne Hurst said: “Britain’s National Hunt season is one of the highlights of our sporting calendar, but criminal gambling operators are also looking to cash in, with £500m expected to be staked on the illegal black market.

“These operators contribute nothing to British racing, pay no UK tax and offer none of the vital protections customers expect from licensed bookmakers.

“We will continue to work closely with the Government and the Gambling Commission to tackle the illegal black market, protect customers and ensure British racing continues to benefit from a well-regulated betting industry.”

Rampant black market rise

The inexorable rise of the black market can’t be negated, with recent figures suggesting that as much as £17 billion could be staked with illegal operators this year. Inevitably, the economic headwinds have picked up, and bookies are feeling tax pressures.

In April, remote gaming duty (RGD) paid on online casino bets surged from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY), while in April 2027, the general betting duty placed on online sports bets will climb from 15% to 25% of GGY, but racing will be exempt.

On top of that, the rate of Machine games duty (MGD) on Category B machines rose from 20% to 25% in the Autumn Budget delivered by the UK Chancellor John Healey. Although not as bad as initially feared, modelling suggested that this would still cause widespread job losses and betting shop closures.

Horseracing feeling the strain

A slew of economic and regulatory measures have placed a significant strain on operators. While Betfred didn’t highlight the impact of black market growth after pulling the plug on sponsorship of all five British Classics, it is something that can’t be ignored.

A recent study by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) depicted a worrying picture of illegal gambling progress in the UK.

They discovered a seven-fold increase in black market usage for racing betting over the past four years, while monthly unique visits to unlicensed gambling sites climbed more than fourteen fold from 1.8 million visits in 2022 to 25 million unique visits in 2025.

In echoing the BGC’s stance, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Chief Executive Brant Dunshea stressed action needs to be taken, as he said: “These unlicensed businesses contribute nothing to British racing or to the public finances.

“We will share these findings with the Government and urging it to work with us to keep bettors within the regulated market as this leakage continues to grow. While the taskforce’s creation was welcomed as a positive development, it is over nine months since the initial announcement was made, and progress so far has been limited.”