22-11-2007 Ladbrokes calls for abolition of levy, racing industry asks to extend the mechanism to non-UK racing items

While UK Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe stated that if the Tote will be sold on the open market, 50 per cent of the sale price will go to the horseracing industry, and just as the British Horseracing Authority called on UK bookmakers to make a bigger contribution to the racing industry, Chris Bell, CEO of Ladbrokes, said the bookmaker no longer supports the levy system. "Our view is that it is an outdated mechanism that has to go," Bell said.

BHA Chairman Paul Roy is believed to have told the Department of Culture, Media and Sport that if the bookies demand a £50m reduction to offset the cost of TurfTV, the BHA will seek levy payments from a range of non-UK racing items, including FOBTs, virtual racing and other betting products.