Report calls for overhaul of horse racing betting industry

A new report has called for an overhaul of the horse racing betting industry as the sport looks to capture a new audience.

The Spotlight Sports Group report, The Horse Racing Audience Opportunity, says that “the sport should concentrate on intuitive betting formats that are easy to understand and move away from offering solely those that require a reliance on deep racing knowledge”.

It comes amid concerns that the complex betting associated with horse racing puts off new fans, and a growing fear that the sport’s fan base is getting too old. “The danger is that as existing fans die,” the report reads, “they are not replaced with a new intake of followers.”

Horse racing in the UK is under threat due to its reliance on the gambling industry, with recent decisions to hike levies on betting companies – albeit with the exclusion of horse racing – by Chancellor Rachel Reeves being blamed for the likes of Coral pulling out of some sponsorship commitments.

Horse racing future

The report, presented this evening in the City, recommends that: racing makes itself less complicated; it embraces the modern requirements of entertaining crowds; it leads with sport rather than gambling; it advances digitally; and it changes structurally.

This, it claims, could help horse racing tap into 200m potential global fans.

“When racing is presented as a sport first, around 70 per cent of new fans eventually engage with wagering anyway – the fandom comes first, the betting follows,” Hong Kong Jockey Club chief Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

Added Ascot Racecourse’s Felicity Barnard: “The strongest racing experiences are built around emotion, atmosphere and helping people fall in love with the sport itself – creating a long-term engagement beyond betting.”

The report comes as the UK gears up for Royal Ascot this month, one of the crown jewels in the racing calendar.