BHA names Davies to board as gambling tax threat looms

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) confirmed on Tuesday that Sir Philip Davies has been appointed to its board as the interim Member Nominated Director (MND) representing the Racecourse Association (RCA), according to iGaming Business.

He succeeds Wilf Walsh, who had held one of the RCA's two MND seats on the BHA board since October 2021. The change follows the RCA's internal selection process, and Sir Philip had already joined the RCA board earlier this year.

Sir Philip was the Conservative MP for Shipley between 2005 and 2024. During that time he co-chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Betting and Gaming and served as vice-chair of the equivalent group for racing and bloodstock, roles that put him at the centre of debates over the 2005 Gambling Act review and the resulting 2023 white paper.

He currently chairs the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and the National Horseracing College in Doncaster, and previously sat on the board of the Racehorse Owners Association.

BHA chair Simon Cox, who took up his own role at the start of October, welcomed the appointment. "I am pleased to welcome Sir Philip to the BHA Board. Throughout his time in parliament he was a strong advocate for racing and betting, helping to ensure the interests of our sport were understood by his fellow politicians, and I look forward to working with him," Cox said, according to iGaming Business. Cox also thanked Walsh "for his significant contribution to the Board over the past five years".

Sir Philip said: "I am delighted to be joining the BHA Board to represent the interests of racecourses. Racing is a sport and industry for which I have long held a strong interest and I look forward to working with board members and stakeholders across the sport to support its long-term success."

The appointment arrives as speculation builds over a possible rise in machine gaming duty (MGD) in the coming October budget, a change many in the sector fear would hit racing hard given its reliance on betting-derived revenue.

Analysis from Regulus cited by iGaming Business estimates that doubling MGD would cost horseracing roughly £92 million a year, around a third of its betting-derived income, with knock-on risks to funding and research investment.

Greg Swift, the BHA's director of communications and corporate affairs, said: "We strongly urge the government to seriously consider the secondary impact on horse racing of a tax hike on betting shops, and also urgently explore measures to ensure that British racing – and the 85,000 jobs it supports – is put on a long-term and sustainable financial footing."