Cheltenham Festival 2023: Punters give overwhelming thumbs down to free bets ban

Ahead of the publication of the government's White Paper on gambling a survey of UK punters has found a significant majority wants free bet offers to stay

Calls to ban free bets as a bookies’ promotional tool have received an emphatic thumbs down from Britain’s punters.

The government is due to publish its white paper, set to bring the biggest raft of reforms to be betting industry since the Gambling Act of 2005, within weeks.

Anti-gambling campaigners have called for the scrapping, or severe restriction, of promotions such as the William Hill £2 shop bet – free with the Daily Mirror during this week’s Cheltenham Festival.

But a YouGov survey revealed that an overwhelming 82 per cent of punters believe betting and gaming companies “should be allowed to offer promotions such as free bets” to their customers.

“Banning or severely restricting free bets would be another attack on the punter, it degrades the customer experience and it also hurts business – and that jeopardises jobs,” said Michael Dugher, chief executive officer of the Betting and Gaming Council.

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A majority – 54 per cent – of those questioned also hold the view that such a move would drive punters to the illegal, and unregulated, black market.

“If promotions are restricted, there’s only one place punters will go,” added Dugher. “Ministers should consider the millions of responsible punters enjoying a bet during Cheltenham and not bring in draconian measures to placate the tiny majority of anti-gambling prohibitionists.”