Britain’s upper house to vote on horse racing levy today

Britain’s controversial horse racing levy on bookmaking firms will be in the news again tomorrow (Thursday) following a vote in the House of Lords tonight on a measure that could deliver another GBP 30 million to the industry by pulling in online sports betting operators.

In addition to media rights payments, bookmakers currently pay a levy of 10.75 percent of profits to help the struggling industry, which according to a Sky News report, has seen revenue decline by 50 percent since 2009.

The report notes that since that year online betting has grown significantly and now accounts for 50 percent of wagers.

The bill before the House of Lords seeks to reclaim the cash from online operators, but will have to be approved by the European Commission in Brussels.

The extra money is being earmarked for anti-doping and anti-corruption, welfare and training and science, research and education.