Memorandum from the Asian Racing Federation
(DGB 90)
I understand that your Committee is giving some
consideration to whether it will carry out an examination into
the threats to the integrity of racing that are created by betting
exchanges. I believe that the Asian Racing Federation would be
well placed to make a useful contribution to those inquiries.
By way of background, the Asian Racing Federation
is an association of 20 racing countries (see attached) that conduct
racing on a significant scale. Our region is the theatre of greatest
growth in the sport of racing, with ARF member countries accounting
for fifty one per cent of all prizemoney offered in horseracing
around the world and sixty two per cent of all thoroughbred horserace
wagering turnover.
The Executive Council of the Federation strongly
supports the steps which the British Horseracing Board is taking
to encourage the Joint Scrutiny Committee to conduct a thorough
review of the regulation and taxation of betting exchanges. Indeed
I should make it clear from the outset that it is the view of
our Executive Council that betting exchanges are incompatible
with the best interests of racing and should be prohibited from
operating on our sport.
We have arrived at this position having regard
to two major considerations.
First, we view the emergence of betting exchanges
as a very significant threat to the integrity of racing. Racing
is a sport and sport should be about winning. The very essence
of betting exchanges is to turn this principle on its head, and
accordingly we see the potential for huge damage to racing's reputation
if exchanges are allowed to continue to grow as a retrograde influence.
To put this in its plainest terms, we have many
millions of customers in our countries. Turning them all into
bookmakers, able to profit from a horse losing, creates an environment
which we believe to be both unhealthy and virtually impossible
to regulate. Post-race analysis of betting patterns is frankly
far too late; the crime will have occurred and the damage been
done.
Second, betting exchanges also raise a major
issue concerning the funding of our racing industries, all of
which depend on receiving sufficient revenues to maintain the
industries as effective competitors in the leisure market. At
stake here is not just the health of racing as a sport, but the
livelihoods of the many thousands of people in our various countries
who depend on racing for their employment.
These concerns are not just held by the racing
industry. There has already been one detailed Government review
into the emergence of betting exchanges and their implications
for racing—the inquiry conducted for Australia and New Zealand's
Racing Ministers by a Betting Exchange Task Force. The report
of this Task Force bears out the seriousness of the threats posed
to integrity and commercial viability of racing from betting exchanges
and the Task Force firmly opposed the licensing of exchanges.
To this point no licences have been issued in either Australia
or New Zealand. Indeed outside the UK and South Africa, no other
country has seen fit to license them. This should surely tell
its own story.
The ARF Executive Council agrees wholeheartedly
with the findings made by the Australian and New Zealand Task
Force. We recognise that you will reach your own opinion on these
matters. In all fairness, however, if you do come to a contrary
view then we would hope that it would be recognised that UK-licensed
exchanges should limit their operations to British racing and
only those other countries that have given their express consent—it
is not unreasonable that each sovereign nation should have the
right to determine whether betting exchanges are to be allowed
to operate on its racing and with its citizens.
In all these circumstances we respectfully add
our encouragement to you to embark on this inquiry. We also respectfully
request that we may be given the opportunity to appear before
your Committee and expand on the destructive impact that exchanges
threaten to inflict on our sport.
December 2003
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