Responding to today’s announcement from Ladbrokes, BHB Communications Director, Peter Bell, said:
“”We are naturally concerned about the impact on the Levy if a sizeable proportion of telephone betting goes offshore, and any drop in income will need to be taken into account in the forthcoming negotiations on a new Levy agreement. The BHB is willing to sit down with the betting industry and government to discuss the level of punter deductions in the UK, provided the discussion is a wide-ranging one which looks at how betting turnover should be allocated between all the interested parties.
“”In the meantime, telephone betting accounts for only about 10 per cent of turnover, most of which is still generated by betting shops. The betting industry should be paying more, not less, for the racing product which continues to underpin a highly profitable business, and in the coming weeks we will be pressing our case strongly for a much higher contribution through the Levy.””