Britain's bookmakers will demand a halving in the amount of money they pay the horse racing industry, the head of their industry association said today.
Bookmakers currently give 10% of the profits they make on horse racing bets to the racing industry but are to demand a reduction next month to balance an increase in costs.
'We would be looking for a very radical reduction in the levy to reflect the higher cost structure in the industry. You could probably see it reducing by 50%,' Tom Kelly, ceo of the Association of British Bookmakers said.
'We expect the initial proposal to go in probably next week', he added.
The bookmakers and the horse racing industry have until the end of October to come to an agreement before James Purnell, the British government minister that oversees the gambling industry, steps in.
