Scotland and Wales Ban Greyhound Racing — Will England Follow?

Posted on: March 20, 2026, 11:21h. 

Last updated on: March 20, 2026, 11:21h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Scotland and Wales vote to ban greyhound racing within days
  • Industry decline and welfare concerns drive political momentum for bans
  • England unlikely to follow soon due to active industry and betting ties

Lawmakers in Scotland have voted in favor of banning greyhound racing, just 24 hours after their counterparts in Wales did the same.

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Supporters of the greyhound racing ban campaigning outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, ahead of the final vote Wednesday. (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

The Prohibition of Greyhound Racing Bill was backed by 70 MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament), with 27 voting against and 19 abstaining. The vote brings an end to a sport that has existed in Scotland since the late 1920s and was once widely popular.

At its peak, the country had 20 tracks, but its popularity has dwindled in recent years. Its last track, Thornton Stadium in Kirkcaldy, Fife, closed last year.

Green MSP Mark Russell, who introduced the bill, told fellow members that dog racing was not just a “harmless hobby enterprise,” adding that Scotland could not be “left behind” as other countries move to ban the sport.

“Racing greyhounds at speeds of up to 40 mph around an oval track results in catastrophic injuries and deaths. Dogs break their legs, break their backs, end up paralyzed and with serious head trauma,” Russell said.

Wales Moves

The story is similar in Wales, which has just one operational dog track left, Valley Greyhounds in Ystrad Mynach. Lawmakers there voted 39–10 to ban the sport, with two abstentions.

The earliest the prohibition can come into effect in Wales is April 2027, to give Valley Greyhounds time to wind down its operations.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has applied for a judicial review of the ban, which it hopes to have ruled unlawful. The board argues the Welsh government failed to carry out a proper consultation prior to the vote.

Both bans were loudly praised by animal rights groups. Christine Dorchak, President and General Counsel for GREY2K USA Worldwide, described them to Casino.org as “two huge victories” that “signal momentum for a full prohibition on dog racing across the entire United Kingdom and across the globe.”

“The votes taken this week to spare greyhounds from suffering, injury and death speak of compassion and common sense and a rejection of a dying industry that will soon reach its proper end,” she added.

England Holds Back

England is less likely to ban greyhound racing in the near term because, unlike Scotland and Wales, it still has a functioning and economically relevant industry, with multiple active tracks, associated jobs, and strong links to the betting sector.

The government has indicated it has no plans to prohibit the sport, instead favoring stricter regulation and welfare standards.

Some 123 dogs died at tracks registered in England and Wales in 2024 with a further 3,809 injuries recorded, according to the GBGB’s own data.