Bookmaker investment in British horse racing has fallen sharply over the past year, with new analysis highlighting a significant reduction in sponsorship activity following recent gambling tax increases.
Data reviewed by the Racing Post shows that bookmaker-backed sponsorship of British races dropped by 17% between January and September 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. The decline comes after the UK government increased Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) from 21% to 40% in April 2026, while a rise in General Betting Duty (GBD) from 15% to 25% is scheduled to take effect in April 2027.
The contraction in sponsorship spending has already affected racing finances. Prize money attached to bookmaker-sponsored races fell by 2.5% during 2026, representing a 5.5% decline in real terms once inflation is taken into account.
The industry now faces additional uncertainty as speculation continues around a potential increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD). According to analysis by Regulus Partners, doubling MGD from 20% could remove £92 million annually from British racing, equivalent to roughly one-third of the sport’s betting-related income.
Sponsorship Spending Shifts Across the Sport
Between January 1 and September 28, races running without sponsorship or supported through contra deals increased by 16%, while commercial and private sponsorship recorded only modest growth of 3%.
The reduction has been particularly noticeable in lower-value races. Bookmaker involvement in races worth less than £10,000 fell from 37.3% in 2025 to 29% in 2026. Sponsorship of races valued between £10,000 and £20,000 also declined, dropping to 27.3%.
Higher-profile contests have proved more resilient. Sponsorship participation in races carrying prize funds between £50,000 and £100,000 rose by 3.6% to 48.6%, while races worth more than £100,000 experienced only a slight decrease of 1%, reaching 47.3%.
Race format has also influenced the scale of the decline. All-weather racing experienced the steepest reduction, with bookmaker sponsorship covering 58.2% of races in 2026 compared with 73.3% a year earlier. Individual venues including Wolverhampton, Southwell, Lingfield and Newcastle all recorded lower levels of bookmaker backing.
Meanwhile, flat turf racing saw a 5.5% decrease in bookmaker sponsorship share, while jumps racing remained largely stable, recording a marginal increase of 0.1%.
Industry observers have also noted a broader movement of gambling marketing budgets toward football and other sports. Horse racing has not been alone in feeling the effects, with Betfred recently ending its title sponsorship of rugby league’s Super League competition.
Major Operators Reduce Their Commitments
Several of the UK’s largest betting companies scaled back their racing involvement during the year.
Bet365, Betfred and Flutter Entertainment each reduced sponsorship activity by more than 15%, while Unibet cut support by 18.5%. JenningsBet reduced its presence by 33%, and sponsorship activity from Star Sports and BetGoodwin declined by more than 80%.
Among the most notable changes was Bet365’s decision to end sponsorship agreements linked to events such as Newmarket’s Craven meeting, the Lancashire Oaks and races at Chelmsford. The operator recorded a 77% reduction in race sponsorships during 2026.
A Bet365 spokesperson said: “Regretfully, Bet365 made the very difficult decision not to continue sponsorship of a number of horseracing events this year.
While these have been long-standing and much-valued partnerships, Bet365 is currently facing a highly competitive trading environment, plus increased regulatory and tax-related costs, which have unfortunately required us to make some tough commercial choices.
Bet365 have been a long-standing supporter of racing and will continue to be so. It remains an important part of our business, and one which is hugely enjoyed by our customers.”
The company’s withdrawal from Perth Racecourse’s April meeting contributed to a 9.8% annual decline in bookmaker sponsorship at that venue.
Matthew Taylor, Perth’s director of racing, said: “As soon as the budget came out last year, we expected Bet365 to stop sponsoring. We have only two days on ITV, so we don’t have that big draw for bookmakers of that size.
In general, we’ve not had too many bookmaker sponsors, although we have a new one for the Perth festival next year, with Lucky Tiger coming on board. That’s just pot luck really because they’re a local bookmaker and want to advertise to customers in the area.
Racing is quite a hard sell because companies don’t necessarily want to be associated with the sport, or with betting. Fortunately, we have a number of long-term sponsors and we work hard with them to give them the best we possibly can.
We also run the Scone Horse Trials and we’ve managed to get more sponsors in because of that. Bedmax, for example, sponsors races as well as the trials.”
Racing Searches for Stability Amid Further Uncertainty
While leading bookmakers have reduced spending, some smaller operators have expanded their visibility. Midnite sponsored 369 races during 2026, while Copybet backed 119 races, helping to replace part of the funding gap left by larger firms.
Some racecourses have managed to maintain existing relationships. Ripon Racecourse experienced only a 0.1% reduction in bookmaker sponsorship, supported by a partnership with William Hill that has lasted more than 25 years.
Chief executive James Hutchinson said: “The relationship between racecourses and bookmakers is something that’s long established, but you have to work at it, too. There needs to be good value, and with the government regulations and taxes that have come in, it’s made it more difficult for them to spend as they once did.
Trying to find people to sponsor races, take hospitality or just come racing is tough. It’s the sort of spend for a company or an individual that’s discretionary and comes after all the things you need to spend money on.”
For many of our smaller sponsors, we don’t charge a lot, £500-600, and we think that’s fair value – we’ve managed to get one or two new people in as a result. We also had a new deal at the start of the year with Napoleons Casino, which took a race a day through the year, and that helped things look a bit better, too.”
Beyond sponsorship challenges, racing continues to address wider concerns around audience growth, competition from unlicensed gambling markets and the sport’s long-term commercial prospects. Recent efforts include the appointment of former CNN executive Andrew Demaria as Racecourse Media Group’s first Chief Content Officer, with responsibility for audience engagement and commercial performance.
