In response to the House of Commons debate on the future of the Levy, Nic Coward, Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said:
“We greatly welcomed this debate and the contributions from so many MPs, led by Matt Hancock. It shows the real strength and depth of support in Parliament and across the country for Racing. It also shows the strength of support for Racing’s united case on the Levy, and also on the future of the Tote. “
“We welcome the Minister’s response and his commitment to levelling the playing field. We look forward to the
Secretary of State’s determination of the 50th Scheme, and have faith that Government will honour the commitments to ensure a fair return to Racing from as broad a base as possible through the decision that it is to be made in the coming weeks. Now is the time to bring forward the introduction of a Levy liability for offshore operators, and to sort out the negative impact of betting exchanges. That will begin to address the short term loopholes and immediate funding issue.”
“But this also has to be about the long term. We are committed to working with the Minister to bring into law a new mechanism and Matt Hancock’s proposal for a new racing right is very welcome. This replacement for the Levy would enable true commercial negotiations between Racing and any betting operator wanting to offer a bet, and create a partnership approach instead of the adversarial approach that exists now. Racing wants to move on in this way, and we very much hope that betting operators will now at last come to the table to create this new approach with us and Government.”
