HORSE RACING: British charities lose out as under fire bookmakers drop Royal Ascot support

British charities will lose out on almost half a million pounds in donations from Royal Ascot this year after bookmakers ended support for a major charity race initiative as the gaming sector adjusts to higher taxes and stricter oversight.

Since 2021, gambling companies including Betfair and Ladbrokes have donated profits from Thursday's Britannia Stakes to charity, an initiative which has raised over £3.6 million ($4.8 million) for the likes of Prostate Cancer UK and Missing People. Last year the Britannia Stakes raised some £450,000 for charity.

But that support has been put on hold this year with a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson citing pressures faced by the broader gambling sector.

"We have taken the difficult decision to pause it this year as the industry continues to adapt to a challenging and evolving environment," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

"This is a pause and we hope to revisit it when there is greater certainty and stability across the sector. Our members remain committed to supporting good causes and continue to work with a number of charities on a range of successful fundraising, partnership and community initiatives."

Bookmakers have been cutting marketing spend on racing and adjusting their offer to punters in response to higher taxes on online gaming and sports, as well as impending affordability checks, an effort by lawmakers to better protect problem gamblers.

Horse racing in Britain is heavily reliant on funding from the betting industry, which contributes over £350 million to the sport annually. Campaigners warned last year any hits to betting company profits will mean bookmakers pass less money on to the sport.

Some like Coral have already made cuts, with the bookmaker ending support for the Coral Cup at Cheltenham as well as reducing its sponsorship for York Racecourse.

Simon Clare, PR director for Entain UK brands Coral and Ladbrokes, said the tax hikes were a guaranteed hit on revenue and that adjustments had to be made but the decision to end support for the Britannia Stakes specifically was not directly driven by these issues.

"It is a challenging operating environment, but that wasn't [the reason]," he said. "A couple of operators had already pulled out last year. The cross-industry support wasn't there anymore so I think it was a sensible decision to end it."

Clare said Entain would focus instead on initiatives like the firm's tie up with Birmingham City FC which sees Entain pay £500 to their charitable foundation for every home goal.

($1 = 0.7445 pounds)

-Reporting by Virginia Furness; Editing by Toby Chopra/Reuters