Conservative Party moots gambling ban for British welfare recipients
The party wants to limit access to gambling as well as alcohol and tobacco and even cash withdrawals.
UK.- The British Conservative Party has proposed a ban on gambling for offenders that receive welfare payments. It’s also suggested that such a measure could later be expanded to cover all welfare recipients.
The party announced the proposal as part of a series of manifesto pledges intended to limit how people found guilty of a crime can use state benefits. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the Conservatives wanted to prevent offenders on licence and those serving community sentences from spending benefits on alcohol, cigarettes, or online gambling.
Philp said “Restricted payment cards” would be given to welfare claimants with criminal convictions, effectively blocking them from using benefits to gamble, buy alcohol and tobacco or even withdraw cash. Philp said the cards would target up to 130,000 offenders to stop the system from being “gamed”.
He said the limits would apply throughout an offender’s licence or community sentence and remain in place for at least a year afterwards. He added that extending similar restrictions to other welfare recipients “is worth considering, and could form part of a broader overhaul of the welfare system.”
Official data shows 9.2 million working-age people in England and Wales currently receive benefits, with around 500,000 of them being former offenders—roughly 6 per cent of claimants.
Speaking to the BBC, Philp billed the proposal as a part of a “smart and sustainable welfare policy” designed to push more claimants back into work while tightening oversight of taxpayer-funded support. Party analysis suggests welfare reform could deliver up to £23bn in savings, largely through stricter eligibility for sickness and disability benefits and stronger work incentives within Universal Credit. The party argues that reducing dependency would free up funds for tax cuts, defence, and economic growth.
Critics counter that Universal Credit already operates under strict conditions and accuse the Conservatives of reviving “austerity-era policies” that would hit the poorest households hardest. Current allowances stand at about £85 per week for a single adult over 25 and £317 per week for families with children, before housing and other support. Opponents argue these payments are already modest and that further restrictions ignore the deeper causes of economic inactivity.
While there’s no obligation for the government to hold a UK general election until August 15 2029, there has been speculation that one could be called earlier amid internal opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is a favourite to replace Starmer, but he would need to win a byelection to return to Parliament.
