William Hill has finally admitted defeat in its legal battle against the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s policy not to impose the Levy on betting exchange users.
The Court of Appeal today upheld last July’s High Court ruling in favour of Betfair in the judicial review brought by William Hill. The bookie has decided not to seek leave to appeal.
The betting exchange’s corporate and legal affairs director Martin Cruddace said he was “pleased” Betfair’s arguments had yet again been vindicated in court. He however added that it was “unfortunate” that the Levy Board’s seven-figure legal bill for defending Hill’s action had significantly impacted horseracing prize money.
Hill’s and the British Horseracing Association (BHA), first brought the claim in September 2011, after the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) concluded at its June board meeting that exchange users who carried on a business were not bookmakers within the terms of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act and therefore not subject to the Levy. The 1963 law defines a bookmaker as someone who” carries on, whether occasionally or regularly, the business of receiving or negotiating bets …”
William Hill’s counsel had argued in the judicial review hearing in the High Court last year that exchange users “receive” bets and in instances that they where they were in business they would be “bookmakers” and therefore were subject to the Levy.
The Court of Appeal today however reaffirmed the distinction drawn by High Court Judge Lord Justice Stanley Burnton last July, that exchange users are indeed customers who make bets, and not bookmakers who receive them.
Betfair said today that Hills was liable to pay 50% of its legal costs accrued in defending the appeal, as well as 25% of expenses related to the initial hearing.
The BHA, with which Hill’s had sought the judicial review of the HBLB’s decision, had left the bookmaker to fight on alone after it withdrew from the action just weeks before last July’s High Court judgment. This followed Betfair agreeing a five-year £40m deal with British Racing, replacing its voluntary contribution to the annual Levy scheme.
A triumphant Cruddace again pointed out today that William Hill’s online business “remains Britain’s largest non-levy paying bookmaker”.
British Racing, consisting of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the Racecourse Association and the Horsemen’s Group, is lobbying for a reform of the current Levy system. The majority of the UK’s leading operators have re-located their online arms to Gibraltar where they are not liable for the Levy, costing the industry vital revenues necessary for its survival, according to the BHA.
Article written by Katy Stirland
