The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), on behalf of the British racing industry, welcomes the government’s determination to address the issues raised by problem gambling. We called for change during the consultation and we can see the government has acted decisively.

The Secretary of State has written to the Chairman of the BHA saying he understands this is not a straightforward decision for the horseracing industry and the government wants to work closely with us to address any risks. The government has also said it will consider bringing forward a review of the levy on betting on racing that returns money to the sport.

He says he has asked his officials to look at how a levy based on global bets placed in Britain could work. We welcome this.

We are pleased that the consultation response recognises the special and longstanding relationship between the betting and horseracing industries. We recognise the potential impact on jobs in the betting industry and will work closely together to respond to this decision.

We will issue a full statement when we have read the full details of the government’s announcement.