Greg Wood (@gregwood.bsky.social)

Racing’s response to tax ‘harmonisation’ bombshell risks disturbing endgame An effective end to the decades-old distinction between betting and gaming feels increasingly imminent The 12-week consultation on a Treasury proposal to “harmonise” the rate of duty levied on online betting – on racing and other sports – and casino gaming – for example, roulette and online slot machines – closes today, and the British Horseracing Authority submitted “the sport’s formal response” to the process, with “the backing of British racing’s key stakeholder groups” on Friday. Whether or not the government takes any notice is, in the BHA’s view, a potential £100m question for the country’s second-biggest spectator sport. That is roughly the mid-point of the Authority’s best- and worst-case scenarios if the proposal for a unified online gambling tax – Remote Betting & Gaming Duty, or RBGD – becomes a reality in October’s Budget. The current rate of duty on betting is 15% of gross profits while online gaming is taxed at 21% of gross profits, and BHA-commissioned modelling suggests that an RBGD rate of 21% would cost the sport £66m per year in lost income from betting. A unified rate of 40%, meanwhile, could see the annual cost rise to £160m. Continue reading... http://dlvr.it/TM2N9q