Bookmakers support the UK horseracing industry

The horseracing industry in the UK has been facing a lot of challenges recently. As a result of the pandemic lockdown, the whole industry was literally crushed down because of the restrictions. But now the news is pretty exciting for British people who usually adore taking part in horseracing. They had been waiting impatiently for the situation to change and now finally the UK gamblers are returned to the opportunity to continue participating in their beloved activity and place bets on horses.

If you wonder what is an early Christmas present for British gamblers then you should know that the British and Irish bookmakers have finally agreed to pay additional fees in order to support horseracing in the UK during November. After prime minister Boris Johnson imposed the second lockdown, bookmakers realized that it was already a time for some changes and they decided to support the Racecourse Media Group (RMG) which is responsible for providing streaming and data to race-related businesses and especially, bookmakers from 35 racecourses that hold an interest in Racing TV.

As the experts believe it will definitely give tracks a financial injection that will have a serious effect not only on the horseracing activities but on the whole gambling industry of the nation. Therefore, horse-race lovers in the UK finally get some relief after closing the spots gambling shops in Britain and Ireland.

Horse racing in the UK

Horse racing is widely considered one of the most attractive national sports for the British and Irish gamblers. In fact, the UK is referred to as a home to various racecourses including the races of Newmarket, Cheltenham, or Ascot. Everybody familiar with the horseracing industry has probably heard of the greatest British jockeys such as Fred Archer, or Sir Gordon Richards.

Even though the pandemic had a bad impact on the industry as it was officially suspended until the end of April by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), current data show that horse racing remains the most popular sport to bet on in the country. Even after the Brexit that was believed to have a major influence on the 5.2-billion-pound horse racing industry both in Britain and Ireland, as we can see today the horse racing in Britain survived.

How did COVID-19 impact the UK horse betting?

From the time when the coronavirus cases dramatically increased in the UK, the officials decided that it was time to take further steps and close most of the gambling shops, including horse betting venues. The bookmakers immediately followed suit, closing down over 800 hundred betting locations temporarily until things would get under control. Only expectations had been horse racing and greyhound racing which are considered as activities of an elite class but it was only permitted behind closed doors. However as the three-level increased, the government decided to shut down the whole gambling industry, and these shops were shut down as well.

But for now, things have changed and bookmakers have agreed to offer a great cash boost for horseracing during the second wave of the pandemic as they confirmed to pay additional fees on data deals and steaming until the beginning of December.