Mauritius gambling regulator threatens legal action over horse racing integrity report

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Mauritius has rejected allegations made in a L’Express report on its Horse Racing Integrity Division, warning it may take the newspaper to court over what it calls unfounded and anonymous claims about “legally flawed” oversight.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has sharply criticised a recent report by local newspaper L’Express that questioned the effectiveness and independence of the Horse Racing Integrity Division (HRID), the body it created in 2025 to supervise all racing matters. In a press statement dated 15 January 2026, the regulator said it “does not subscribe” to the contents of the article and takes “strong exception to the averments and innuendos contained therein,” stressing that it reserves the right to pursue legal action against the owner, publisher and editor-in-chief of L’Express.

The L’Express report, signed by “one or more” unnamed horse racing experts, alleged that the HRID suffers from structural dysfunctions, erratic rule enforcement, inconsistent sanctions and disciplinary investigations that are often incomplete or “legally flawed.” It also raised concerns over possible conflicts of interest, claiming that some officials within the division have close ties to long-standing racing stakeholders, potentially undermining public confidence in its decisions.

In its response, the GRA criticised the anonymous nature of the report and said the paper had not contacted the authority for comment before publication. The regulator insisted that the HRID operates strictly within its statutory framework “in all transparency” and will continue to enforce the rules “without fear or favour,” presenting the criticism as part of a pattern of what it describes as a “cavalier attitude” by L’Express toward the authority.

The dispute comes at a sensitive moment for Mauritian horse racing, which has been undergoing structural reform following amendments to the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act and the creation of the HRID in 2025 to centralise oversight of integrity, licensing and enforcement. While L’Express has defended its reporting as being in the public interest, the GRA’s threat of legal action signals a more confrontational stance toward media scrutiny just as the industry seeks to rebuild trust after years of controversy over governance and race management.