101 Labour MPs sign letter calling for gambling tax hike in the UK
Pressure is growing as half of Labour backbenches support the call.
UK.- Pressure is mounting on Keir Starmer’s Labour government to hike gambling taxes in the UK after 101 MPs from the the prime minister’s own party signed a letter addressed to chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for a “targeted levy on harmful online gambling products” to tackle child poverty.
Nearly half of Labour’s backbenchers signed the letter, which was written by MPs Alex Ballinger and Beccy Cooper, both members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform. The letter suggests that the funds raised be used to do away with the two-child benefit cap.
“No child should be growing up in poverty while gambling companies continue to enjoy record profits,” Ballinger’s letter states. “Harms from gambling place a huge burden on our public services, costing the Exchequer over £1bn a year. It’s time to confront these excessive profits, reduce gambling-related harm, tackle poverty, and ensure gambling is taxed fairly.”
Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown triggered the renewed calls for a hike in gambling tax when he gave his support to proposals from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The think tank proposes increasing remote gaming duty for online casinos from 21 to 50 per cent, slot machines games duty from 20 to 50 per cent and general betting duty on non-racing bets from 15 to 25 per cent. It estimates that this could raise £3.2bn.
Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats, the second biggest opposition party in Britain, formally adopted a gambling tax rise as party policy.
The issue of taxation has also begun to drive a wedge between the gambling sector and horseracing sector, normally so closely aligned, with some in the gambling industry accusing the British Horseracing Authority of negotiating with the anti-gambling lobby in a bid to get a better deal for horseracing betting while accepting higher taxes on other verticals.
The Betting and Gaming Council has already being lobbying against existing Treasury proposals to unify three separate taxes under a new Remote Gaming and Betting Duty, a move that it fears would increase the tax burden on horseracing betting.
Responding to the new pressure, it said in a statement: “We strongly oppose proposals to raise taxes on the regulated betting and gaming industry. Such a move would be short-sighted, harming jobs, investment, and sports funding, while failing to deliver more revenue.
“Every time the Treasury squeezes the regulated sector, it strengthens the unsafe black market, which pays no tax, offers no consumer protection, and puts UK jobs and growth at risk.”
