A PLANNED gambling crackdown will do untold damage to UK horse racing, ministers will be warned today.
MPs will use a Westminster debate to sound the alarm over proposed affordability checks on betting-dependent sectors.
A backlash has been growing since the Government announced laws to collect the financial data of punters who lose as little as £125 a month or £500 a year.
Racing bosses say it could mean a £50million funding loss for the industry.
Analysis suggests that could put many of the 85,000 jobs in stables and elsewhere at risk.
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MP Matt Hancock, whose Suffolk constituency includes Newmarket, said: “Whilst I fully support the effort to tackle problem gambling, it would be a huge mistake to do this.
“Current plans will do untold damage to Newmarket and the horseracing industry.”
Former Minister George Freeman said affordability checks are “a sledgehammer to crack a nut in terms of the gambling problem”.
He said: “Horseracing is as integral to our national story as the pub, the pie and Parliament.
“It’s key to our heritage, rural & national economy and global soft power.
Jockey Club chief Nevin Truesdale says racing relies on income from betting levies.
He claims the checks “would fail to recognise an individual’s personal circumstances”.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “These are light-touch, frictionless checks to protect people from potentially life-changing losses.”