BGC Embraces UK Sport Funding and Strategy, Speaks Out on Taxes

The UK government has pledged £400 million to support the operations of local sports. This comes as part of a larger package, where £900 million has been allocated to events such as Euro 2028, the European Athletics Championships, and the Tour de France. The funding has been seen by the Betting and Gaming Council as a welcome means to aid community-based sports across the country.

Some existing programmes already support local sporting events. Entain’s ‘Pitching In’ offers support to non-league football clubs with investments and promotions. By partnering with Trident Leagues and Flutter’s Cash4Clubs, over £6 million has been donated to local organisations since 2008. Industry involvement in grassroots sports has been substantial and continues to grow with each passing year.

Currently, there has also been wider funding from the betting industry in British sports. Horse racing sees a healthy £350 million a year, as this sport has been a fan favourite for bettors since its inception. In the same vein, English League Football is granted £40 million a year, as the nation’s favourite pastime has always been one for football fans to have a flutter on. Other sports, such as snooker, darts, and rugby league, also have sizable contributions of over £12 million a year.

A strategy has been implemented to increase competitiveness in sports and creative industries. The BGC has an established history of supporting local events and is pleased to see the government following suit, with CEO Grainne Hurst stating, “As long-time committed supporters of grassroots sports through investment, charity partnerships and sponsorship deals, we are delighted to see the Government commit more cash to unite communities and inspire people to take up sport.”

However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows when discussing the funding of grassroots sports, as concerns have been raised about potential taxes related to gambling. The problems lie in the fact that taxes could damage the £6.8 billion economic contribution, equate to £4 billion in taxes, and affect over 100,000 jobs. Grainne Hurts also speculates that the tax rises “…will not boost growth, but will force people to the growing unsafe gambling black market.”

The UK as a nation has always enjoyed gambling, and current statistics show that around 22.5 million adults place bets every single month. Although this is a significant proportion of the population, the NHS reports that roughly 0.4% of those suffer from gambling-related issues.

It will be interesting to see how this funding affects local support and whether it has a positive or negative impact on gambling-related taxes. The funding has been met with lots of praise, so let’s see how it plays out in the long run.