The UK government has signalled its intention to increase gambling taxes in the next Budget.
With the country’s public finances coming under pressure and chancellor Rachel Reeves in need of bringing in more money, gambling companies have been put in the spotlight.
The UK’s Labour government – which won a massive majority at last year’s general election – has already introduced a new statutory levy that aims to raise £100 million from gambling firms.
And more taxes could be on the way for companies such as online casinos in the new Budget, with key public figures like former prime minister Gordon Brown having called for this step.
The next Budget is due to be delivered in late November and Reeves has given the clearest signal yet that gambling taxes are likely to be reformed to bring in increased public money.
Important Economic Contribution
While Reeves is clear on her belief that gambling companies should have to pay more in taxes to boost a struggling UK economy, she did point out their contribution as it stands is valuable.
“I’m the chancellor who set up the review of gambling taxes,” she said to ITV. “No other chancellor has done that, because I do think there’s a case for gambling firms paying more.
I talk to a number of businesses from all sectors of the economy including the gaming sector. On a personal level I have never bet in my life on anything, but they make an important contribution to the economy.
But they should pay their fair share of taxes and we will make sure that happens.
Reeves was speaking shortly after the UK’s gambling minister, Baroness Twycross, indicated the risks of boosting the black market must be weighed up when thinking about increasing the level of taxation faced by the gambling sector.
The minister said at an event that had been organised by major think-tank the Social Market Foundation (SMF) think tank that jobs could also be lost if the chancellor opts to increase taxes.
“We can and we should tackle advertising,” Baroness Twycross said at the SMF event. “It is one of the challenges that I have set for the sector.”
Many Labour MPs have cited a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research that suggested increasing gambling taxes could pay for measures to help child poverty.
£4 Billion In UK Taxes Generated
Bodies such as the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which represents regulated operators in the UK, have regularly highlighted what companies in the gambling sector offer to the economy.
BGC data shows that the industry contributes £4 billion in annual taxes to the UK economy, while supporting in the region of 110,000 jobs located all over the UK.
The BGC has often spoken of the risks of higher taxes pushing people to use the black market instead, with the organisation recently launching a new campaign to highlight this danger.
Its new campaign video has been released with the aim of raising awareness of the increasing level of threat that is being posed by the UK’s unsafe, unregulated gambling operators.
A BGC spokesperson said:
This campaign is about exposing the hidden dangers of the black market. These unregulated sites deliberately mimic trusted brands but play by none of the rules that keep people safe.
The Black Market: Spot The Difference campaign forms part of the BGC’s wider commitment to raising standards and promoting safer gambling, complementing major industry initiatives such as Safer Gambling Week.