While the UK adjusts to a new resident in 10 Downing Street (and No 10 North), one sport in particular is viewing the Burnham premiership with a touch of trepidation.
Burnham is not a racing fan. Despite being born close to the Grand National course at Aintree, the PM admitted that his visit to Aintree last March was his first time at the races in his life.
While a lack of knowledge or interest in a sport shouldn’t make governing bodies fearful per se, it is Burnham’s oft stated views on gambling that has caused unrest in racing circles.
Behind football, racing is the UK’s second largest sport in respect of attendances, employment and revenues generated annually. Supporting 85,000 jobs and averaging nearly 5 million attendees visiting racecourses every year, British racing generates £34.1bn annually for the UK economy.
But while the sport of racing is compelling, it is the interlinking with the betting industry that underpins the sport’s popularity. Racing is the second most popular betting sport overall, with over £14 billion bet on horseraces every year, well ahead of third placed golf.
Without betting, most people within the racing industry realise that the sport would be doomed, or at least relegated to a niche pasttime enjoyed by equine enthusiasts but overlooked by the vast majority of sports fans.
In his previous role as Mayor of Manchester, there is clear evidence to suggest that Burnham is not a supporter of gambling (or racing). Last year, he was a co-signatory of a letter to the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, arguing for local authorities to be given more powers to reduce the spread of gambling premises. While this in itself may not seem too much of a threat to racing, Burnham’s support for the campaign group Against The Odds, could well be.
Against The Odds, based in Burnham’s home city of Liverpool, is a campaign committed to “phasing out gambling sponsorship across all levels and all types of sport”. Writing in 2022 in support of the campaign, Burnham stated: “Gambling sponsorship and advertising in sport has become so normalised. We risk creating a culture where people feel they can’t enjoy sport properly without placing a bet. This needs to change.” He goes on to say: “Together we can relegate gambling sponsorship of sport to the history books.”
With racing and gambling so intrinsically linked, a ban on gambling sponsorship and promotion in sport that included racing would be disastrous for the industry. Even if racing was given an exemption, it would be a big blow to the betting industry, and impact racing revenues accordingly.
Sports betting sponsorship is already facing prohibitions, with next season’s premier league introducing a ban on the front of match day shirts for all twenty clubs. That resulted in 10 topflight clubs who were previously sponsored by betting companies having to find new sponsors heading into the forthcoming season.
In a further step to address betting sponsorship in sports, two weeks ago the government launched an eight-week consultation on its proposals to ban unlicensed casinos from sponsoring sports teams in the UK from next year. This would impact any gambling company that does not have a Gambling Commission licence, and would particularly hit Formula One and Everton Football Club whose longstanding partner Stake.com is a crypto casino that does not have a licence to serve customers in Great Britain.
Given that our new Prime Minister is not only a vocal gambling industry critic but also a committed supporter of Everton FC, perhaps the racing industry is right to be on high alert as the new administration settles into power and Burnham starts setting his agenda.
David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Sports Law and Corporate & Commercial
If you would like to contact him, please call on either 07968 027343 or 020 7631 4141 or email: company@
The above is accurate as at 23 July 2026.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
