MPs to raise the stakes for betting exchanges

Tough new curbs on betting exchanges were today proposed by an influential group of MPs.

In a bid to clamp down on cheating, professional gamblers could soon be forced to register with a new betting watchdog and abide by a code of conduct. The move follows a series of scandals where exchange punters are alleged to have profited from inside knowledge of horse racing.

Betfair, the leading exchange, has strongly opposed any form of regulation, arguing they can already identify the source of suspicious betting patterns. The growth of exchanges, which allow punters to lay horses to lose, has highlighted the debate about what action constitutes "cheating" as opposed to profiting from gossip.

Peter Savill, chairman of the British Horseracing Board, told the committee: "Horse racing and betting is very much tied up with inside information. The moment you arrive on a racecourse there will be 50 people coming up and telling you what is fancied and what is not."

The MPs have now called for a new definition of "cheating" which takes into account racing's culture of shared information.