The UK government said it has no plans to extend Wales's planned greyhound racing ban to the rest of the UK. Culture minister Lisa Nandy told Parliament that position; the Greyhound Board of Great Britain then called for more financial support from bookmakers, including a compulsory levy.
The position leaves greyhound racing policy unchanged outside Wales while the industry body seeks bookmaker funding for welfare and the sport.
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Reportedly, the British Horseracing Authority appointed Sir Philip Davies as the Racecourse Association’s interim Member Nominated Director. Davies replaces Wilf Walsh and joined the RCA board earlier this year. He was MP for Shipley from 2005 until 2024 and jointly chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Betting and Gaming.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced, on an interim basis, that Sir Philip Davies will sit on its board as the Racecourse Association's (RCA) Member Nominated Director. The RCA's own selection process produced the change, which was announced the day after it took effect. Sir Philip takes over from Wilf Walsh, who had been one of the RCA's two Member Nominated Directors on the BHA board since October 2021.
The Betting and Gaming Council said it wants to discuss sector taxation, regulation and illegal gambling with the UK Government. The trade body said financial-risk checks should rely on accurate data and warned that unresolved concerns could drive customers towards illegal platforms; it cited 109,000 jobs, £6.8bn in gross value added and about £4bn in annual tax contributions from the regulated sector.
The UK Gambling Commission postponed its decision on fully implementing Financial Risk Assessments after its board met on 21 May. The commission said it had reviewed an extensive evidence base but had not completed its assessment, and would provide an update in due course.
Reportedly, Conservative peer Nick Herbert urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to reconsider the UKGC’s affordability-check policy. He made the request while speaking in the House of Lords.
A cross-party group of 19 MPs representing British racecourses urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene over the Gambling Commission’s planned financial risk assessments. The policy was scheduled to begin later in May, and the MPs said it could harm horseracing and the licensed betting market; the Commission’s pilot found that fewer than 3% of active customers would trigger intervention steps.