Racing celebrates ‘Axe the Tax’ Budget campaign victory after Reeves spares sport
Charles Allen, the chair of the British Horseracing Authority, paid tribute on Wednesday to “everyone who has played their part across the sport” after the budget announcement by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that the rate of duty for betting on horse racing will remain unchanged at 15%,Confirmation that racing would be exempt from tax hikes on online casino gaming as well as betting on football and other sports follows a seven-month campaign under the slogan “Axe The Racing Tax”,It was initially launched in response to a Treasury proposal to “harmonise” the duty paid on betting and gaming at a single rate,Instead, the chancellor opted for a new regime on gambling duty with a focus on online games of chance, which are associated with significantly higher rates of gambling-related harm than single-event betting,Remote Gaming Duty (RGD), the tax paid on profits from online slots and casino games, will almost double, from 21% to 40%.
While the tax rate for online betting on sports other than racing will rise from 15% to 25%, there is no change to the rate on machine gaming or sports betting in high-street shops.“I would like to commend the chancellor and the government for listening to the concerns of British racing and offering their clear support for our sport,” Lord Allen said , “[and] thank everyone who has played their part across the sport, standing as one to communicate our message.“The government has rightly recognised that we are not only a vital part of the fabric of the British way of life, but we are also a global leader and one of the country’s most important soft power levers.We want to maintain Britain’s place on the world stage.”Martin Cruddace, the chief executive of Arena Racing Company (Arc) and a key figure in the “Axe The Racing Tax” campaign, said the sport had “been clear throughout that harmonisation of tax rates of British racing and other betting and gaming products would gravely impact our industry”.
He added: “As a sport and industry, we continue to offer a real contribution to this country, supporting communities and culture.I am so glad the government has recognised that fact and helped put our sport on a path to growth.”The new gambling duty regime is closely aligned to proposals put forward by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) thinktank in July.It also follows an intervention in the debate in August by the former prime minister Gordon Brown, calling for a significant rise in online gaming duty.“This decision mirrors the proposals made in our recent SMF report on gambling tax,” said Dr James Noyes, one of the authors of the report.
“We are pleased the government has decided to differentiate between different types of gambling product – increasing the duty on more harmful remote casino content while protecting horse racing from the planned rise in betting duty.“For too long, the online gambling industry has been undertaxed.This decision by the chancellor will ensure that operators pay their fair share and brings the UK into line with international best practice.”Gambling operators’ profits on racing bets are subject to an additional 10% deduction to fund the Levy.The decision to increase the rate of duty on non-racing bets, effectively aligning these with racing bets at a total deduction of 25%, will be expected to increase the sport’s attractiveness as a product for online operators.
Uttoxeter: 12.25 Merry Monty 12.55 Khrisma 1.30 Double Click 2.05 Holokea 2.
40 Fortune Dancer 3.15 Soldier’s Leap.Taunton: 12.35 Miss Altea Blue 1.05 Iris Des Issards 1.
40 Maximum Offers 2.15 Ellerton 2.50 Bashful Boy 3.22 Begin The Luck 3.52 No Risk Today.
Lingfield: 12.40 Malago Rose 1.15 Moor End 1.50 Broomfield Aderra 2.25 Noble Park 3.
00 Mondo Man 3.33 Defi Nonantais.Newcastle: 3.28 Jez Bomb 4.05 Leonetto 4.
40 Mythical Bay 5.15 Unassuming 5.45 Henery Hawk 6.15 Uniting 6.45 Secret Guest 7.
15 Bungle Bay.Chelmsford: 4.30 Accommodation 5.00 Snow Light 5.30 Diamond Ali 6.
00 An Bradan Feasa 6,30 Madrigal Moment 7,00 Calafrio (nap) 7,30 Parlando (nb) 8,00 Eliza Bennet 8.
30 Stratoc.The budget statement allocated an additional £26m for the Gambling Commission to combat a possible increase in unlicensed gambling, which has been repeatedly raised by the Betting and Gaming Council, the industry’s main lobbying group, as a potential result of tax rises.“We want to collaborate with our betting operator partners to grow the sport,” Brant Dunshea, the BHA’s acting chief executive, said, “and I’m absolutely convinced that betting operators and racing have a shared interest in doing that and are committed to doing so.“Our sport is often criticised for being fragmented and not joined up.I think [the success of the campaign] is a very good example of how when the sport comes together with a shared purpose and a shared goal, we are an incredibly powerful voice to government.
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Diaries, artworks and more to be auctioned from Marianne Faithfull’s personal belongings
Diaries and a gift from actor Carrie Fisher are among the personal items from Marianne Faithfull that are going up for auction in London.The musician died in January aged 78, leaving behind a cache of fascinating portraits, photographs and ephemera from a glamorous, sometimes troubled life. “Each piece tells a story and reflects her spirit and inimitable taste,” her son Nicholas Dunbar said. “It is time now for these belongings to find new homes and I hope that they will bring as much joy to their new owners as they did Marianne.”The diaries include one from 1959 when Faithfull was in her early teens, and a 1989 journal entitled Goals
Donald Glover reveals he had a stroke on Childish Gambino tour in 2024
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‘He was just trying to earn a few kopecks’: how newly translated stories reveal Chekhov’s silly side
Few writers are as universally admired as Chekhov. As Booker winner George Saunders puts it, “Chekhov – shall I be blunt? – is the greatest short story writer who ever lived.” Novelists from Ann Patchett to Zadie Smith cite him as an inspiration. His plays The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard still pack out theatres internationally. In the past year alone, Andrew Scott wowed audiences in his one-man Vanya for London’s National Theatre and Cate Blanchett took on the role of Arkadina in The Seagull at the Barbican
From Wicked: For Good to Stranger Things: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Ariana Grande sparkles in the concluding part of the Wicked Witch tale, and the first batch of final episodes of the retro sci-fi juggernaut are unleashedWicked: For GoodOut nowWas the decision to split this Broadway musical big-screen adaptation into two parts motivated by art or money? Part two is here, so you can judge for yourself. The Wizard of Oz-inspired story picks up with defiant “Wicked Witch” Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) living in exile, while Glinda (Ariana Grande) relishes her own popularity.The Thing With FeathersOut nowMax Porter’s novel Grief Is the Thing With Feathers gets the big-screen treatment, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as the dad who must raise his two young children alone after his wife dies unexpectedly. With David Thewlis as the voice of the crow who appears to him.The Ice TowerOut nowMarion Cotillard stars as a star: an actor called Cristina, who is playing the beautiful Snow Queen in a 1960s adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic that also inspired Frozen
Kristen Bell and Brian Cox among actors shocked they’re attached to Fox News podcast
The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.The announcement boasted that more than 100 actors had signed on to participate in the project, with a voice cast including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Brian Cox as the Voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator and Julia Ormond as Mary.But reps for Bell claim that the actor was blindsided by the announcement, as she had recorded the audio 15 years ago. She only learned that Fox planned to release a podcast with her name attached the day before the announcement, when her team received an invitation to appear on Fox & Friends the following day, her reps told Rolling Stone
The Guide #218: For gen Zers like me, YouTube isn’t an app or a website – it’s the backdrop to our waking lives
Barely a month goes by without more news of streaming sites overtaking traditional, terrestrial TV. Predominant among those sits YouTube, with more than 2.5 billion monthly viewers. For people my age – a sprightly 28 – and younger, YouTube is less of an app or website than our answer to radio: the ever-present background hum of modern life. While my mum might leave Radio 4 wittering or BBC News flickering in the corner as she potters about the house, I’ve got a video essay about Japan’s unique approach to urban planning playing on my phone
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