Royal Ascot 2026 has left bookmakers nursing heavy losses following a festival that consistently delivered results in favour of punters across all five days.
The prestigious meeting took place from 16 to 20 June at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, with 294,541 racegoers attending across the week.
That figure represents exactly 8,000 more attendees than the previous year’s festival, demonstrating that appetite for live horse racing in the UK remains strong.
Winners including Ombudsman, Scandinavia and Giovelotto contributed to a punishing week for bookmakers, with 13 favourites in total winning their races.
A spokesperson for official Ascot bookmaker partner Betfred confirmed the operator “did their conkers and had a stinker at Royal Ascot”, summarising the week’s grim trading bluntly.
DragonBet Co-Owner James Lovell echoed that sentiment, stating: “On the whole, it was a tough week for bookmakers generally.”
Lovell explained that the biggest races attracted the largest wagers, and that punters landed most of them, with Scandinavia, Bow Echo, Ombudsman and Precise all winning.
He added: “We battled hard in the handicaps and managed to come out on the right side of a number of those races, but it didn’t take long for the sharper punters to identify the draw bias.”
Lovell went further, claiming that “nobody is getting fat out of being a bookmaker these days” within what he described as a “hugely uncompetitive environment.”
Ascot Racecourse’s Head of Corporate and Industry Affairs, Will Aitkenhead, offered a more optimistic perspective on the festival’s broader success and engagement levels.
Aitkenhead told SBC News: “It was fantastic to have Their Majesties The King and Queen in attendance on all five days.”
He noted that “the appetite from participants to be involved at Royal Ascot has never been higher”, pointing to runners travelling from Australia, Japan, America and France.
Aitkenhead also confirmed that the number of Bet With Ascot booths has actually reduced since 2018, with units removed from multiple enclosures and lawns across the course.
He said significant investment in staff training and pay had helped improve customer service, with turnover increasing as a direct result of those improvements.
The difficult trading week arrives against an already challenging backdrop for licensed bookmakers operating in the UK racing market.
The British Horseracing Authority cancelled meetings in September 2025 at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park in protest at potential tax hikes, though those specific increases never materialised.
Remote Gaming Duty did rise to 40% in April 2026, however, and General Betting Duty is set to climb further from 15% to 25% in April 2027.
The #AxeTheRacingTax campaign attracted significant momentum throughout 2025, drawing support from MPs and The Sun newspaper amid widespread industry concern.
Licensed operators continue to warn in 2026 that escalating tax burdens risk pushing more activity toward illegal gambling markets operating outside regulatory oversight.
With punter-friendly results now layered on top of a difficult fiscal environment, Royal Ascot 2026 will be remembered by bookmakers as a week they would rather forget.
