British MP calls for gambling tax hike
Labour’s Alex Ballinger says higher taxes should be introduced to hold operators to account over gambling harm.
UK.- The Labour MP Alex Ballinger has called for an increase in gambling tax to hold the sector accountable for gambling harm. In an interviewed for Politics Home, the Halesowen MP said the new mandatory gambling levy to fund research, education and treatment was insufficient.
He described the levy as “a positive move, but it’s just a drop in the ocean” and said a change in taxation was needed to make up funding to charities.
The call comes after the government proposed a new single Remote Betting and Gaming Duty, which would unify the current system of three separate tax rates General Betting Duty, Remote Gaming Duty, and Pool Betting Duty. However, Ballinger argued that it was right for different types of gambling to be taxed differently and warned that the new proposal could have unintended consequences.
“Combining the duties might have unintended consequences, because it would create an even higher incentive for companies to steer people towards the more harmful forms of gambling,” he argued. “Online casinos and slots should keep paying a higher rate of tax than your local bingo hall or bookmakers.”
The Betting and Gaming Council argues that the proposal could push two thirds of players to black market. A YouGov-conducted survey found that 65 per cent of gamblers believe a tax hike on sports betting like horseracing would “make customers turn to unregulated betting sites that don’t have to pay any tax at all.”
The current Remote Gaming Duty, which covers online slots, poker, bingo and similar, is levied at 21 per cent of gross profits based on a place of consumption (POC) model. General Betting Duty varies depending on vertical: fixed-odds betting is taxed at 15 per cent, sports spread betting at 10 per cent, and financial spread betting at 3 per cent. Pool Betting Duty is charged at 15 per cent on gross profits, applicable to sports pools only (excluding horse and greyhound racing).
Under the HMRC’s new proposal, the combined RBGD would maintain the POC principle, which has been in place since 2014. This states that operators pay UK taxes if their customers are located in the UK, regardless of the operators’ own country of domicile.
