Online Horseracing Betting Turnover Slow But On-Course Soars

New online betting turnover figures for British horseracing show the sport is still declining, but at a slower rate. In its official industry statistics, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) highlighted that online racing turnover for the 12 months up to March 2026 stood at £7.85 billion.

Compared to last year’s results, this represented a mere 0.4% drop-off, whereas online betting turnover on racing between April 2024 and March 2025 was £7.88 billion.

However, the fall last year was much steeper when set aside against the 2021-22 number, where online betting turnover surpassed the £10 billion mark.

Key takeaways

At first glance, the online results didn’t make for pleasant reading. Racing found itself lagging behind the overall remote gambling market, where turnover jumped by 5% to £24.7 billion over the past 12 months. Online football betting remained a principal driver, as digital turnover rose by 2% to £10.15 bn.

That said, racing’s online gross gambling yield (GGY) increased by almost 1% to £769.3 million. The levy is based on a 10% share of GGY yielded from betting on British racing.

Markedly different picture for on-course

As far as on-course turnover is concerned, it was a markedly different picture. On-course turnover climbed from £240 million to £270 million between March 2025 and March 2026, representing the highest mark since 2011, while GGY soared by 9% to £28.96 million over the same corresponding period.

Over the past few months, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have been trying to channel new ways to push up engagement figures and attract a younger demographic. And it seems to be having the desired effect, with a higher proportion of larger stakes placed, and bettors being turned off by off-course restrictions, such as affordability checks.

This was pointed out by DragonBet co-founder, James Lovell, who said:

“The off-course Starting Price (SP) has increased too, which means we can be more competitive on price. On top of that, as you’ve had tax increases, this is being passed on to customers and offers such as best odds guaranteed and money back, which made it hard for us to compete with, are disappearing.

“When you come to the course you get price and product — the value is palpable. People recognise it, and I think we are getting better at promoting ourselves using the likes of social media, but I think we should bang the drum more and say, ‘We’re bookies and we’ll take a bet’.”

Bruising time for retail

Aside from the slight online malaise, it has been a chastening time for the retail sector. Although horseracing was exempt from the tax increases announced by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her budget last November, the general betting duty paid on online sports bets will jump from 15% to 25% of GGY in April 2027.

Betting companies have been forced to bear the brunt of a more punitive tax regime, with Entain announcing a second round of job cuts earlier this week, while Paddy Power and Betfred find themselves in the same boat. On top of that, since the previous budget, more than 600 land-based shops have closed across the UK.

Further tax rises could be on the way in next month’s budget, which would spell grave danger to British racing’s finances. A proposed increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD) to 40%, according to modelling commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), could see up to 1,470 betting shops closed, with 15,900 potential job losses.