Irish racing was on Wednesday facing an existential crisis as Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing threatened to pull their coverage if a swingeing ban on advertising as proposed in the new Gambling Regulation Bill was brought into effect.
Racing Media Group (RMG), the parent company of Racing TV which has secured exclusive media rights to broadcast from all 26 Irish tracks until 2029, said that its service will likely "cease to be viable in Ireland" should the bill, which passed committee stage on Tuesday evening, be enacted in its current form. Sky Sports Racing, whose widespread coverage of British racing is available to watch in Ireland, warned its Irish broadcast operations would be "economically unviable".
The long-awaited bill proposes a new watershed whereby gambling advertising is banned between 5.30am and 9pm, in effect denying any adverts on live horseracing coverage during daytime hours.
Martin Stevenson, RMG's chief executive officer, told the Racing Post: "There would be substantial economic and operational challenges in ceasing to carry gambling advertising, sponsorships, and branding on Racing TV – and it is likely to mean that it ceases to be viable to continue broadcasting in Ireland."
Stevenson added: “We are very supportive that gambling legislation in Ireland is modernised to protect the vulnerable, but there is a significant risk that the unintentional result is that racing fans and the industry are no longer able to watch the racing channels in Ireland.
"It would be a huge shame to potentially deny Irish breeders, owners, trainers, and jockeys as well as the huge number of Irish racing fans and enthusiasts the ability to watch the major racing festivals and day-to-day coverage of horseracing from Ireland and Great Britain."
David Jennings' comment: Banning betting ads on racing channels would be a futile experiment that could savage the sport
Racing TV recently secured the rights to broadcast from all Irish racecourses until 2029 at the earliest, after five of them initially rejected a €47 million-a-year deal only to sign up at the 11th hour. An even bigger obstacle now has to be cleared.
Stevenson added: “Television coverage is the lifeblood for any sport and the damage that the loss of these channels in Ireland might cause the successful Irish racing industry is of real concern. Once fans are no longer able to watch a sport on TV, there is a real risk that the sport then suffers a decline in interest and participation.
“Racing TV is a subscription channel and therefore satisfies, in our view, many of the ‘opt in’ safeguards seen elsewhere in the Bill. We ask the new gambling regulator and the Oireachtas to recognise the very close relationship between racing and betting and allow an exemption for dedicated channels showing horseracing. This would permit betting companies’ advertising, sponsorships and branding to be shown on those channels’ coverage of horseracing, during the watershed hours of 5.30am to 9pm.
“We want racing fans to be able to watch all of Irish and British racing live, and to be able to engage and interact with the sport that has played, and continues to play, such an important role in Ireland. We would very much welcome an opportunity to further discuss and consult on an exemption, which is compliant and practical, while protecting young and vulnerable viewers from harm.”
It is unclear whether the ban will encompass references to odds and market movers, or even if bookmakers will be permitted to sponsor races. However, it has been suggested that overseas broadcasters would have to adhere to the law, which would mean feeds from Sky Sports Racing or Racing TV would not be permitted to broadcast the same advertisements to their audiences in Ireland as they would in the UK.
Matthew Imi, chief executive of Sky Sports Racing, said: "We welcome the new Gambling Regulation Bill as we are strong supporters of responsible gambling – a message which runs consistently across all of our media platforms – and agree with the central premise on the need to protect problem gamblers and children.
"However, we are extremely concerned about a provision in the Gambling Regulation Bill which proposes a ban on all gambling advertising and sponsorship on TV, radio and online from 5.30am until 9pm every day. Uniquely, as compared to other sports, horseracing and betting go hand in hand, so a significant amount of advertising on our specialist horseracing channel and, indeed, on competitor racing channels, is betting related.
"If this proposed watershed ban on gambling advertising goes ahead as drafted it could have a devastating impact on such dedicated horseracing channels. It’s our view that such a ban may render Sky Sports Racing economically unviable in Ireland if the option for bookmaker advertising and sponsorship support is no longer open to us.
"Not only would this penalise the multitude of horseracing fans in Ireland, but it would also have a negative impact on the industry as a whole, which we know is worth €2.4 billion to the Irish economy and which supports more than 30,000 jobs.
"The profile of Irish racing has never been higher with Irish horses, jockeys, trainers and owners competing with great success in racing, not just in the UK but all over the world. Racing fans in Ireland – watching both from home and from pubs and clubs – would be deprived of watching their local champions if we, reluctantly, have to make a decision to remove Sky Sports Racing from Ireland."
The bill passed the committee stage on Tuesday evening and will now go into the report stage, where amendments proposed on Tuesday will be considered. It will then progress to the final stage in Dail Eireann before going through a similar process in the Seanad, after which it will be enacted into law by the president.
