UK Bookmakers Curb Racing Sponsorship; Industry Readying For MGD Hit

Bookmaker sponsorship of British racing has plummeted by as much as 17% since the introduction of higher taxes in last year’s Budget. Rigorous analysis carried out by the Racing Post indicated that support provided by major operators, such as Bet365 and Betfred, fell by more than 15%.

Unibet, meanwhile, culled sponsorship spend by 18.5%, while Jennings Bet reduced spending by 33%. These cutbacks contributed to a 2.5% decline in prize-money totals for bookmaker-backed races in 2026, translating into a real-terms drop of 5.5% when adjusted for inflation.

Racing on the rails

Other figures presented in the report revealed some alarming findings. Private or other commercial sponsorship only grew by 3% between January 1 2025 and September 28 2026, and all-weather racing took a bit of a pummelling.

In 2026, 58.2% of all-weather races in 2026 carried bookmaker sponsorship compared to 73.3% for 2025. Tracks such as Wolverhampton (15.6%), Lingfield (6.5%), and Newcastle (2.1%) experienced significant dips in sponsorship. Bet365, meanwhile, which terminated its sponsorship of Newmarket’s Craven meeting and the Lancashire Oaks, had 77% fewer sponsorship deals this year.

Mentioning the sponsorship retreat, a Bet365 spokesperson said:

“Regretfully, Bet365 made the very difficult decision not to continue sponsorship of a number of horseracing events this year.

“While these have been long-standing and much-valued partnerships, Bet365 is currently facing a highly competitive trading environment, plus increased regulatory and tax-related costs, which have unfortunately required us to make some tough commercial choices.”

A harsh landscape

Bookies have been fending off strong economic headwinds owed to the imposition of tax rises from last year’s Budget. Cutbacks began in April when the remote gaming duty (RGD) rate paid on online casino bets jumped from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY), and provisional data provided by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) showed the RGD uptick is bearing fruit for the government.

At the time, bookmaker sponsorship in racing crashed by an average of 8.8% per month. More tax rises are on the way next April, with general betting duty (GBD) paid on online sports bets to leap from 15% to 25% of GGY, with racing exempt.

A swathe of shops have closed as a result, with Betfred confirming over the summer it was shutting 132 locations, while Paddy Power carried out an extensive review of its UK and Ireland retail estate. Although racing was given a slight reprieve from the tax rises, bookies have been forced to tighten their belts.

MGD could create a further headache

The spectre of an increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD), which could feature in the Budget later this month, could create a further headache for the betting industry. From a racing perspective, consultancy firm Regulus Partners suggested bumping the MGD rate to 40% could see racing lose as much as a third of its annual revenue (£92 million) and wipe out many betting shops.

Bookies may have to be more astute moving forward. Betfred co-founder Fred Done previously warned that his company could end other racing sponsorship deals if things don’t go their way, and he called on the government to be more tactful in its approach.

He said:

“I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for bookmakers, but I’m asking the government to open its eyes. You can’t squeeze any more out of this industry. Every penny of tax will kill investment, kill jobs, kill horseracing and send problem gamblers into the arms of unlicensed and unregulated black and grey-market operators.”