UK MP admits concern for racing amid “heavy-handed” affordability proposals
Amateur jockey Guy Opperman urges regulator to listen to stakeholder concerns about lumping horseracing in with online casino sector
A UK MP and former jockey has come out fighting for horseracing to be exempt from any proposed affordability limits as a result of the Gambling Act 2005 review.
Guy Opperman, an amateur jockey and MP for Hexham in Northumberland, told The Express that plans to include horseracing in spending limits alongside online casino were “ill thought through”.
A worst-case £100 affordability soft cap on monthly losses is currently under consideration as part of the UK government’s review into the country’s online gambling sector.
“The Gambling Commission needs to change their mind,” Opperman told the tabloid newspaper. “I speak as the constituency MP for Hexham racecourse, which provides more than 50 local jobs in Northumberland.
“As someone who has worked in horseracing, which again is a key employer in Northumberland, I have no doubt the Gambling Commission have got this wrong.
“There is a way forward, that introduces safeguards, but without these heavy-handed proposals. The impact on racing, and the jobs connected to horseracing, will be significant if these proposals go through unamended,” he added.
Great to ride Viking Rebel on gallops this week: 2 old veterans looking at an early spring morning on #HadriansWall pic.twitter.com/uKiv8mvBOH
— Guy Opperman (@GuyOpperman) February 7, 2016
Kenny Alexander, the former CEO of Entain and owner of this year’s Champion Hurdle-winning horse Honeysuckle, has previously suggested affordability limits would be more damaging for racing than the Covid-19 pandemic.
Affordability limits have garnered support from influential groups including the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group and the House of Lords’ Peers for Gambling Reform.
However, Pensions Minister Opperman is one voice inside parliament against the proposals.
He said: “I am particularly concerned that it appears that parliament will not be able to influence or change these proposals.
“The Gambling Commission say they are in listening mode. I hope they listen to suggestions that this proposal is not appropriate for racecourse betting and that the betting firms can implement and operate limits without proposals such as this.
“Their ideas are fraught with difficulty and ill thought through,” he added.