We’ve been getting plastered this week.

Although not how you think… it’s not, for example, that we were so relieved about horseracing being spared some of the largest tax hikes inflicted on betting operators in the Chancellor’s budget.

While an increase in General Betting Duty to 25%, such as is being applied to betting on most sports, would have been catastrophic for horseracing, there is no doubt that we’ll still be impacted. Online bookmakers will seek to mitigate their tax liabilities through lower outgoings elsewhere and this has already affected Kelso Racecourse where Ladbrokes have pulled out of sponsoring the Go North Series Finals in March.

Unsurprisingly, bookmaker brands are among horseracing’s largest sponsors: Entain, which owns the Ladbrokes brand, is also responsible for Corals – sponsors of the prestigious two-day meeting at Newbury this weekend where Kelso winner Myretown is one of the favourites for the Coral Gold Cup. Our selection, in the novice hurdle on Saturday, is another previous Kelso winner: Kiwi Rush who was last seen finishing second in the Jodami Go North Bumper Series Final last season.

Highstreet betting shops appear to have avoided the most harmful tax increases, seemingly out of recognition of their cultural significance and social function. Yes – even betting shops have cultural significance, courtesy of their position on the highstreet since 1961 where they’ve outlived brands including Woolworths, Dewhurst Butchers and the Midland Bank. In the face of the mass closure of pubs, betting shops have remained an important social hub where people can gather without any obligation to purchase an expensive latte or cappuccino.

Meanwhile, companies like Flutter and bet365 (sponsors of the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso) will be obliged to pay 40% of profits from online casino-type games in the form of Remote Gaming Duty, which has almost doubled from 21%.

Tax, as we know, is as unavoidable as death – so there’s little point in carping about how and when it happens. However, the betting industry does have a painfully legitimate complaint in relation to the lenient treatment of black market operators – betting platforms which are unregulated, pay no tax or levy, and offer few if any safeguards to players. While the black market continues with impunity, the punishing rates of taxation imposed upon regulated operators will make them even less competitive – driving players from one to the other.

I’ve not done the maths, I don’t even have all the figures at my disposal, but given that roughly 25% of proceeds from the National Lottery are earmarked for good causes, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that some betting companies now contribute more to social causes than the Government-sponsored scheme.

Which is where getting plastered comes in… the category A listed grandstand at Kelso Racecourse has recently been treated for dry rot above the old north-west staircase. We’ve replaced wooden lintels with concrete ones, and replastered the walls – but there’ll be plenty more restoration work to complete in the future. The heritage lottery fund can expect to receive an application from us soon, together with any other bodies that fund good causes…