Sources familiar with the matter told NEXT.io the Reuben Brothers-owned racetrack operator had previously charged a £15,000 flat fee, which was changed to a 2% charge under the new system.
While so far just Macbet has announced the change, NEXT.io understands other bookmakers are considering various actions to offset the data fee changes.
Racehorse owner and professional football punter Nick Goff told NEXT.io: “It’s a real shame, because they’re a good bookmaker. I’ve had some some dealings with the guy that runs it myself, and they seem like a well-run, forward-thinking business.”
Going forward, Macbet has indicated it intends to eventually offset this by offer higher margin books only on Arena races, or else via an extra fee on Arena events.
Macbet is a horse racing only bookmaker, which means it is unable to subsidise turnover charges through other revenue streams by cross-selling, as larger operators can.
‘Take it or leave it’
Independent bookmaker Geoff Banks told NEXT.io Arena often has a “take-it-or-leave-it” approach to data rights costs for the smaller businesses, and that they are aware they pay more for data than bigger operators which are able to negotiate.
He said: “I know what their data charges are, and it’s expensive, more expensive than the opposition, and they would have been given a fait accompli — that’s I’m just afraid the way the Ruben brothers work.”
Banks said the increased charge for many smaller operators might be the difference between a tenable and completely untenable business and comes following a series of increased charges and compliance costs in recent years.
Meanwhile, he questioned the opaqueness of the company over the amount it was making through media rights.
He said: “It seems across the British Horseracing Authority, the racetracks, they want a lot more in data and levy. But back in 2012 when there were the same number of race meetings, they were trousering less than £100m from bookmakers.
“Now they’re getting nearly half a billion pounds from bookmakers, and they’re still complaining. The attitude of Arena is we’re not going to discuss how much we make in media rights and [CEO] Martin Cruddace has been very clear about that.
“’We’re a private company, and what we take in media rights is our business’, which lends to the very legitimate concern that people have that Arena are excessively profiteering by media rights. It’s a legitimate speculation.”
Flutter Entertainment fell afoul of Arena in July last year after it pulled bets on an evening meeting in Bath over a dispute about the costs of media rights.
The racecourse operator has previously come under fire in the sport due to a perception its tracks offer low prize money compared to some of its peers.
Some have argued this has damaged the sport by providing little incentive for horse owners to win, who themselves face very high overheads.
This comes as the business’ chief executive Martin Cruddace has been among the most powerful individuals in the racing sector to publicly align himself with gambling harms campaigners in their bid to achieve a differentiated tax for products with different levels of harm.
NEXT.io has reached out to Macbet for comment. An Arena spokesperson told NEXT.io its policy is not to comment on commercial matters like this.
Dingnews.com 19/09/2025