As far as the EastEnders style soap opera that is going on between the British Horse Racing Authority (BHA), Betfair, and anyone else who fancies a bit of publicity, is concerned, it’s been rolling on for a while now. The back and forth was started by the Levy Board and after round-after-round of counter punching it’s now coming to a head.
Betfair had already begun threatening to move operations abroad after the animosity that the BHA feels the need to exert – Ladbrokes and William Hill having already done this to be exempt from the levy and Betfair could be next. This was what came out of their latest tantrum ahead of tonight’s live TV debate between all sides on Sky Sports News (7:30pm).
Betfair CEO David Yu commented, in a Sunday newspaper, that the online gaming exchange was “happy to be licensed and to pay sensible tax but if we don’t see movement we’d have to consider what’s right for the business over the long term.”
If they are going to make a decision whether to stay in the UK or go elsewhere I for one would like a Lebron-style TV special, probably taking place in racing’s home, Newmarket. Picture it now: Betfair offer the BHA some hope and then snatch it all away.
