Coral ditches Cheltenham Festival as Reeves tax rises on gambling bite
Betting giant Coral has ditched the Cheltenham Festival after over 50 years due to government taxes on gambling.
Duty on UK horse racing wagers was exempted from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget last autumn but taxes on remote sports betting will be hiked from 15 per cent to 25 per cent in 2027.
Coral’s parent firm Entain said on Wednesday that they would be ending their “long-standing” sponsorship, dating back 52 years, of the Coral Cup at the iconic Cheltenham Festival, home to the Gold Cup.
The organisation had been the longest-running sponsor at the Cheltenham Festival, since 1974.
“The decision follows the significant increase in betting taxation announced in the recent UK Budget, which has required the business to reassess the commercial viability of certain sponsorships as part of a broader review of marketing investment,” a statement read.
Shadow sports minister Louie French claimed that “Coral’s decision is just the latest example of how Labour’s eye-watering and ideological taxes were always going to hit horse racing”, adding that “it’s not about tackling gambling harms, it’s a cash grab that puts jobs and sports at risk.”
Entain ditch Coral Cup
Entain’s sponsorship director Simon Clare added that it is with “a heavy heart” that the organisation will ditch the Cheltenham Festival, “but the scale of the recent tax increase on betting operators means we must take difficult decisions to mitigate its impact”.
The move will be seen as a blow to the horse racing. Despite attempts to exempt the gambling industry from tax increases at a Budget, a smorgasbord of hikes to fund a financial black hole – which appeared to be smaller than warned – left the wider gambling sector vulnerable.
Added Clare: “With higher taxation and racing’s already high cost base – driven by media rights and the statutory levy – it is essential that the sport and the betting industry work together to grow racing’s appeal while ensuring it remains financially sustainable.
“We are committed to working constructively with our partners to support racing’s long-term health.”
Bookies and online casinos will pay billions more in tax by the end of this parliament, while the Betting and Gaming Council warned last November that odds for punters across the industry would be slashed if taxes were increased.
Added French: “Rachel Reeves’ gambling tax raid was inevitably going to cost jobs, shut bookies and deprive British sports of vital funding.”
A DCMS spokesperson said: “At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a package that raises revenue and forms part of our ambition to create a fair, modern and sustainable tax system.
“Horseracing has been protected, as we recognise both its unique heritage and vital importance to rural communities. Horserace bets are already subject to a mandatory 10 per cent levy and that remains the case.”