Catherine Colloms has been appointed as a Member of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), with her four-year term running from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030.
The appointment was made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and comes at a time when the funding model for British horseracing remains under scrutiny following the conclusion of the Government's review of the Horserace Betting Levy earlier this year.
The HBLB is responsible for collecting the statutory levy from betting operators on profits generated from British horseracing and distributing those funds across prize money, integrity services, veterinary science, education and breeding initiatives.
Colloms brings experience from both the gambling sector and regulated industries. Between 2013 and 2016, she served as Corporate Affairs Director at Paddy Power, where she led the operator's responsible gambling team and helped establish the Senet Group, an industry-led self-regulatory body created before the introduction of several formal regulatory requirements now overseen by the Gambling Commission.
Since leaving Paddy Power, Colloms has held senior positions outside gambling, including serving as Director of Corporate Affairs and Brand at Openreach between 2016 and 2024.
She currently sits on the Industrial Development Advisory Board at the Department for Business and Trade and serves as a Non-Executive Director at Gigaclear.
The appointment follows continued debate around the future funding of British racing. In March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport concluded a review of the Horserace Betting Levy and confirmed that the current 10% levy rate would remain unchanged.
The decision maintained the existing framework under which operators with more than £500,000 in annual gross profits from British horseracing contribute to the levy system. The Government argued that retaining the current structure would provide stability while broader gambling and taxation reforms continue to develop.
For racing stakeholders, levy funding remains a significant source of income. According to the HBLB's latest annual reporting, levy receipts exceeded £100m, supporting prize money, integrity operations and industry development programmes across British racing.
Colloms will receive annual remuneration of £19,665 for the role. DCMS confirmed the appointment was made in accordance with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments and that she declared no significant political activity during the previous five years.
Earlier this year, the British Horseracing Authority criticised the Government's decision to leave the Horserace Betting Levy unchanged following a three-year review.
The regulator argued the outcome risked placing further pressure on racing's finances and highlighted that British racing receives a smaller share of gambling revenues than comparable jurisdictions such as France and Ireland.
The HBLB distributes levy funding across prize money, integrity services, veterinary research and education programmes throughout British horseracing
