The levy collected from sports betting on racing at Gambling Commission-licensed operators is expected to decrease to £80m for the 2020-21 fiscal year. This decline is attributed to the challenging year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the suspension of racing from mid-March to June. Even after racing resumed in June, racecourses remained closed to spectators and betting shops were shut for a significant portion of the year.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the level of betting activity following the resumption of racing, the board increased the amount of distributed prize money and offered loans to racecourses as part of a Covid-19 support package. In the previous levy year, £96m was spent, providing approximately 50% more to prize money than usual and allocating £3m towards the costs of new regulatory measures to ensure the sport could proceed in accordance with Covid-19 protocols.
Despite the challenges, fixtures have taken place without interruption since June. The board aims to raise additional funds to further support the sports-betting sector. With an income of £80m, the reserves at the end of the 2020/21 levy year were just over £40m, providing flexibility for significant investment in the recovery phase from Covid-19.
