Grand National Charity Bet campaign raises funds for UK good causes
A record of 58 MPs took part in the Betting and Gaming Council’s annual Grand National initiative.
UK.- The Betting and Gaming Council has announced that its 2025 Grand National Charity Bet campaign raised over £15,000 for good causes. The annual initiative sees the lobby group give money to MPs to place a bet on the race at Aintree. Winnings go to charities chosen by each MP.
A record 58 MPs took part this year, including defence secretary John Healey and seven ministers. The winner in Saturday’s race was 33-1 outsider Nick Rockett, ridden by Patrick Mullins and trained by Willie Mullins.
Labour MP Mike Reader and Conservative MPs Sir Christopher Chope and Ashley Fox all backed fifth-placed Meetingofthewaters with an each way bet, but none backed the winner. However, the BGC has pledged that every nominated charity will still receive at least £250. These donations, combined with winnings, raised a total of £15,375.
Some of the winning good causes included national charities like Parkinson’s UK alongside local good causes such as the East Durham Veterans Trust and Ryedale Special Families, which supports families of children with disabilities in North Yorkshire.
Other MPs who took part included shadow gambling minister Louie French, Culture Media and Sport Select Committee member James Frith and deputy speaker Caroline Nokes. MPs were invited to visit a Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill, Betfred or Paddy Power betting shop in their constituency to place their charity bet. During the visits, they heard from staff about the range of safer gambling measures available to customers.
Grainne Hurst, the BGC’s chief executive, said: “It’s been a fantastic record-breaking year for our Charity Bet with 58 parliamentarians taking part from right across the political divide. Millions of people enjoyed a bet on the race showing once again that, for so many of us, having a flutter is a part of our great British culture.
“I visited a number of betting shops in recent weeks and I want to pay tribute to all the thousands of people who work in them to help support our hard-pressed high streets. I would like to thank all those MPs who took part for supporting so many good causes. I would also like to thank all of our members for once again getting behind this great initiative”.
However, the BGC has estimated that £9.4m may have been bet illegally on the Grand National. It claims that there has been a rise in the amount bet on the popular horseracing fixture via black market operators.
The BGC says that each year around 600 million people across 140 countries tune in to watch the Grand National, and that an estimated 13 million adults in the UK bet on the headline race.
It estimates that £250m will have been staked legally in Britain on the main event, generating an estimated £3m in tax revenues for the Treasury and £2m in contributions to the horseracing levy to support the sport. However, the event is being “subverted” by illegal operators, the BGC says.
