The British Horseracing Authority has criticized the Gambling Commission for failing to acknowledge concerns about its consultation process on affordability checks, following revelations that the regulator did not respond to industry emails for two months before approving the measures.
The dispute centers on the commission’s response to questions from the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee. In a letter published this week, acting chief executive Sarah Gardner said the commission was “surprised and disappointed” by claims it had failed to engage with racing over the financial risk assessments.
That response came despite a freedom of information request by Racing Post revealing the commission failed to reply to BHA emails during the two-month period before it formally approved the affordability checks on July 7.
A BHA spokesperson said the commission’s response “does not recognise our concern about its engagement with stakeholders and due process,” adding that the regulator “did not engage with the BHA in the weeks leading up to the board’s decision and subsequent announcement on July 7. This was despite our best efforts to do so.”
Data release delayed until autumn
The BHA and other critics have pressed the commission to publish the full dataset underlying its decision to proceed with affordability checks. The committee had asked when that information would be made available.
Gardner’s letter reiterated the commission would not release the data until the autumn, and even then some information would be aggregated and summarized due to commercial sensitivities.
The BHA noted the commission “has now admitted that taking the decision to implement affordability checks without publishing the evidence was outside its normal process.” The spokesperson quoted the commission’s earlier commitment to publish “a final and full response to the consultation with our decision.”
Gambling operators have warned that the commission’s pilot of the checks demonstrated they would not be frictionless, as promised, and would lead to thousands of customers being asked to provide personal financial documents to continue betting. Racing has estimated the measures could cost the sport £250 million over five years.
Parliamentary scrutiny on hold
The BHA criticized the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for continuing “to delegate policymaking to an unelected quango” despite what it called “major issues in the process that have now publicly come to light.”
With parliament in recess, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee will not have an opportunity to consider the commission’s response until September. The BHA said it would continue working with the commission and DCMS to represent the interests of horserace bettors and the sport, while supporting further parliamentary scrutiny in the autumn.
Based on reporting by Racing Post.