How the Black Market and Stricter Regulation is Threatening the UK Horse Racing Industry
The horse racing industry is so important in the UK. However, it is under constant threat from unlicensed bookmakers. They do not pay tax to the Treasury and are not regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. Their presence also robs the UK’s gambling industry of revenue and that in turn affects the horse racing industry.
The last Classic of the 2026 UK racing season was the St. Leger held at Doncaster in That was part of a festival that is sponsored by top gambling company Betfred, but will that sponsorship continue in the future?
The Betting and Gaming Council estimated that around £8 million would be placed with unlicensed gambling sites during the Betfred St Leger Festival with £2 million on the classic.
This year saw the St. Leger celebrate its 250th anniversary. So much has changed in recent years and the presence of illegal gambling companies is making life difficult for the legal side of the business.
It’s not just the large amount of revenue that is being lost that concerns the licensed betting operators in the UK. As we mentioned, the black market companies as they are described do not have to follow the strict regulations put in place by the UK Gambling Commission.
That means the offers they make to their customers can often be unfair to their customers. They aren’t subject to the regulatory checks that often see licensed gambling companies be given huge fines.
If you do want to bet online, it is therefore best to register with a licensed site. Visiting a website that reviews legal betting sites is strongly recommended.
There is no need to adhere to anti-money laundering requirements and age-verification checks. The black market sites simply aren’t as safe to gamble on as those who are licensed and regulated. Those gamblers who deposit large amounts and make big losses, simply aren’t protected.
Even worse news for the UK’s horseracing industry is the fact that these companies do not make any contribution to the sport. You are never going to see a big race being sponsored by a site that is unregulated and unlicensed.
The Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is Grainne Hurst. Shortly before the St. Leger festival, the Chief Executive commented: “Betting and racing have enjoyed a close and historic partnership for generations, with BGC members contributing more than £350m to British horseracing every year and supporting thousands of jobs and livelihoods across the sport.”
Hurst called for stronger action against illegal sites to “stop the criminal black market gaining further ground.”
The problem also extends to how gambling websites are promoted and discovered online. Search engines are often the first place bettors look for bookmakers, racing odds and betting advice, making the visibility of unlicensed operators another concern for the industry.
Bets & Horses, a UK horse racing and betting information website, believes that tackling the black market requires action beyond traditional gambling regulation.
“At Bets & Horses, we support stronger measures against illegal UK betting sites and better protection for players. Blocking unlicensed operators can help restrict their reach, but search engines also have a responsibility. Unfortunately, Google’s spam updates don’t appear to be doing enough. We continue to see questionable gambling websites gaining visibility in search results, potentially exposing players to operators that lack UK regulatory protections.”
The concern is not simply about lost revenue. When unlicensed operators appear alongside legitimate bookmakers in search results, bettors may struggle to distinguish between regulated and unregulated services. Greater cooperation between regulators, search engines and the gambling industry could help address that risk.
However, it has been estimated that if 500 betting shops were to close their doors, then that would cost the UK’s horse racing industry around £20 million The BGC’s estimate is that by the end of this year, more than 600 betting shops will have closed with 5,000 jobs lost since the 2025 budget. A damaged gambling industry is going to be less keen to provide prize money and general investment in the sport.
This article has already mentioned Betfred’s sponsorship of the St.Leger. They sponsor all five of the UK’s classic races and have three years left on their contract. If the financial pressures being placed on the industry intensify, their owner Fred Done has stated that those sponsorships would have to come to an end.
It’s not just taxation that is the problem though. Affordability checks that ask for gamblers to provide information about their finances are becoming stricter. Such a move is unpopular with gamblers, especially those who believe they are in control of their gambling. Stricter affordability checks could lead to more gamblers leaving the regulated sites and joining those on the black market.
The BGC believes that the stricter checks could see Levy receipts being reduced by around £13.2 million per annum as more than 70,000 customers join the illegal sites. Again, this would be bad news for the UK’s horseracing industry at a time they really don’t need it.