The founder of online gambling blocking app Gamban wants horse racing to be separated from online slots and casino games in any affordability checks that the government imposes permanently.
Matt Zarb-Cousin, a self-confessed former gambling addict who now dedicates his time to helping others in a similar position, believes that horse racing should be exempt from affordability rules in a bid to safeguard the financial future of the sport.
Speaking on the Barstewards Enquiry podcast, Zarb-Cousin has blamed racing as a whole for not doing enough to separate itself from online casino betting, which explains why having a punt on the horses is treated the same as games of pure chance by law-makers.
And it’s a situation that could yet see racing suffer catastrophic financial consequences as punters lower their bets or take to black market bookies instead.
Unexpected Take
Horse racing has found an unlikely ally in a gambling reformist that called for the ban on FOBT machines in high street bookmakers.
But Zarb-Cousin believes that betting on horse racing – and trying your luck on slots and casino games – are two different things entirely… and should be treated as such by regulators.
He has called for a simple solution: separate wallets at online betting sites that differentiate between sports and casino, rather than the one-stop solution that most bookmakers deploy on their websites and apps.
According to industry data, bookmaker turnover is down a staggering £3.2 billion in the timeframe since betting firms began rolling out affordability checks on punters voluntarily.
And that situation has since been exacerbated by the government’s affordability pilot scheme, which began in August. As part of the scheme, punters depositing £500 or more in a 30-day window have been subject to a ‘financial vulnerability’ check, based upon publicly available data.
But as of February 2025, that net deposit threshold will fall to £150 per 30 days, which would restrict the activity of professional punters, as well as trainers and owners betting big on their horses.
It’s a situation that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has described as ‘challenging’. Referring to the first three trading quarters of 2024, their spokesperson commented:
“Total turnover on British racing in the first three quarters of 2024 was down by 9% compared with last year, and 18.4% with two years ago.
“Our colleagues in the betting industry remain positive about the fixture list initiatives that have been introduced this year, but the effect of these has been insufficient to compensate for other downward influences, most notably the continuing impact of affordability checks.”
Cutting the Cord
Stakeholders of racing want the sport to be treated differently from casino games, which are – scientifically speaking – thought to be far more addictive than wagering on the horses.
Changed have been made to alter the design of online slots, roulette etc by slowing down gameplay, removing some of the ‘auto spin’ elements and preventing monetary losses being described as wins on screen.
But there’s still work to be done, and Zarb-Cousin believes that horse racing could do itself plenty of favours by ‘cutting the cord’ with online casino gaming. He has even called for a system in which gambling sites have to apply for different licences: one for sports betting and a separate one for casino gaming.
And speaking on behalf of the Clean Up Gambling campaign group, he believes that the BHA has ‘sold out’ by doing nothing to differentiate between the different forms of gambling.
“BHA bosses with a vested interest in online casinos have sold out racing,” he said.
“They have lobbied to protect the status quo for a betting industry that is more interested in cross-promoting online slots, which has come at a huge cost to racing.
“Racing should be distancing itself from the much more addictive forms of gambling; you have to take the target off your back. If racing was to delineate from online casino and slot operations, if there was a separate licence, then we wouldn’t be having the situation where racing was subject to affordability checks.”
The sport is in the midst of something of a civil war, with Arena Racing Company chief Martin Cruddace calling out the Gambling Commission for being, in his opinion, ‘unaccountable and out of control’.
“Every racing jurisdiction across the world, none of which has the concept of affordability, is looking at the UK perplexed, wondering how our government can oversee such a decline in a sport which transcends and brings so much joy to every part of society, alongside billions to our economy,” he said.
That view has since been endorsed by the National Trainers Federation (NTF), the Racecourse Association (RCA) and the Racehorse Owners’ Association (ROA).