Racing must seize its chance as new commission tackles UK betting laws

The prospect of a new Gambling Act, with significant implications for racing’s funding model via betting, moved a step closer on Monday. A new commission that includes experts from the fields of economics, law, public policy, health and sport will initiate an “independent, evidence-based assessment of the existing [legal] framework [around gambling] and consider whether further reform, including potential new primary legislation, may be required.”

The Gambling Policy Commission (GPC), which is chaired by Jagjit Chadha OBE, a professor of economics at Cambridge University, will launch on Monday with a “call for evidence from all interested parties and individuals”, to be submitted by 12 February 2027. It will then aim to deliver its findings and recommendations before the next general election.

The GPC will aim to perform a similar role to Sir Alan Budd’s comprehensive review of gambling laws, which was published in 2001. The Budd Report made 176 recommendations, the vast majority of which were accepted by the government and subsequently included in the Gambling Act 2005.

In recent years, however, following the rapid expansion of online gambling and the introduction of new technologies and products including prediction markets and cryptocurrencies, the 2005 Act has increasingly been described as “analogue” legislation in a digital age.

“The last comprehensive independent review of gambling legislation was undertaken a quarter of a century ago,” Chadha says. “Since then, both the gambling market and the wider technological environment have changed considerably.

“Our purpose is to examine the evidence carefully and independently, to understand how the existing framework has operated, assess the impact of more recent reforms, and consider what legislative and regulatory framework will be appropriate for the years ahead.

“We want to hear from people and organisations with experience, evidence and expertise across all sides of this debate.”

Betting on racing is a small fraction of the overall gambling industry, but crucial to the funding and prosperity of the sport and the GPC is clear that its terms of reference include consideration of “the special position of British horseracing” in gambling’s relationship with sport, including the statutory betting levy and media rights linked to betting turnover.

Racing will also be encouraged that the GPC’s membership includes two individuals with a strong understanding of its financing and economics. Dr James Reade, the head of economics at Reading University, was also co-author of a report on the financial and cultural importance of Ascot racecourse which was published in June 2026, while Tom Savill, a director of Plumpton Racecourse, was the co-author of the report “Securing Racing’s Future”, which was published in 2025.

In addition to Chadha and Reade, who will serve as the GPC’s chief economist, its eight committee members include Peter Kellner, the commentator and former president of YouGov; Sir Anton Muscatelli, the current president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and Professor Janet O’Sullivan, a leading legal academic.

The football journalist and commentator Philippe Auclair is also a member, along with Dr James Noyes, a specialist in gambling regulation at the Social Market Foundation think tank.

The GPC’s arrival in the continuing debate around gambling regulation could add considerable impetus to the process of reforming and updating the current legislation.

It also gives racing a chance to emphasise its unique relationship with betting, and separate itself from the fixed-odds casino and slot-based products that have become increasingly significant in the gambling sector in the last decade. It is an opportunity that the sport would be well advised to seize with both hands.