Taxation on horse racing betting: skeptical tobacconists and players determined to continue betting

This is a dramatic turn of events in the horse racing industry which has nevertheless gone unnoticed by the PMUs. At the beginning of November, an amendment tabled by the government to the draft Social Security budget set things ablaze. This bill provides in particular for increasing the tax on gross proceeds from horse racing betting games. A tax currently of 6.9% which would increase to 7.5% in the physical network (PMU, racecourses) and which could even reach 15% for online betting. The amendment has since been withdrawn but professionals in the sector are not relaxing their vigilance, fearing that the debate will return to the Senate table. In Cahors, few tobacconists had heard of this measure. “It's true that the customers haven't said anything. But in reality, that doesn't change much. Real bettors will continue to play because the majority of our customers who bet on horse racing have a gaming addiction They will not change their behavior,” says a PMU saleswoman from the city center who prefers to remain anonymous in this already quiet environment.

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Horse racing regulars, in the industry, are called racers. “Punters are like buyers of cigarettes. They won't stop despite the increase,” notes another PMU seller from the center of Cahors. And he knows what he's talking about: last week, certain packs of cigarettes went from 12 to 13 euros, far from discouraging smokers. “We are already regularly experiencing increases in the price of tobacco, so an additional tax…” he continues, evasively. “In any case, we are never really informed of the increase. For cigarettes, for example, we discover it the same day, in front of the customer, by scanning their packet,” he observes.

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“I, who was not good at math, took up probability.”

In the tobacco press where he works, punters flock at the start of the month and fade away from halfway through the month. This Saturday, November 16, already, its terminal dedicated to horse racing betting is no longer really coveted. The ticket is two euros. “But the punters are independent on the terminals, we don’t know how much they bet and how much they win,” he points out. An intimacy which sometimes has its perverse effects and encourages the player to bet at will. This is sometimes the case for Joss, a regular punter. “I'm an exceptional case. Maybe all players have been fooled like that but me in any case, I started in 2014 when I had never played in my life. That day, my five children each chose a number, I bet 4 euros and I won the quinté, 524 euros,” he tells us.

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Since then, he has been playing on and off: sometimes nothing for five months, sometimes several times a week. In fact, it depends on the end of the month. “I, who was not good at mathematics, started calculating, probabilities, I observed the Tiercé players who take into account a whole bunch of factors including the terrain,” he explains again. If the ticket were to increase, he would continue to bet but does not consider himself addicted. Next door, his friend points out: “The customers gamble because they don't have money. For me, for example, it's to pay for the evening meal.” “The government wants to dissuade gamblers but the majority are in precarious circumstances. When you have an addiction, you go see a real doctor,” summarizes Joss, ticket in hand. Today he only bet two euros.

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