The Betting and Gaming Council praised the government for ‘getting the balance right’ after the gambling industry avoided heavy tax rises in Rachel Reeves’ budget yesterday.
In what was the first Labour budget for almost 15 years, it was widely anticipated that following think tank lobbying in the run up to the red briefcase reveal, the gambling industry would feel the wrath of the Labour government, which raised taxes by £40bn.
The decision however to avoid burdening the gambling industry with significant tax rises was praised by Stephen Hodgson, Deputy Group Tax Director at Entain as ‘a sensible decision’. He also backed the decision to launch a future consultation on reform of online gambling taxes.
The Betting and Gaming Council also backed the move with CEO Grainne Hurst, emphasising that ‘any duty rise would have hit customers, prevented growth, risked jobs and bolstered the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market’.
She added: “The Government has listened to the BGC and our members, got the balance right, and rejected calls from anti-gambling prohibitionists seeking to threaten jobs and growth.
“With policy for the sector already set, our members can look to support the Government’s ambitious growth agenda, generating tax, jobs and investment across the nation while continuing to support sports like horseracing.”
She did however warn that ‘while there have been no rises in gambling duties, we will study the impact that increased employers’ National Insurance contributions will have on BGC members, particularly smaller operators like independent bookmakers and land-based leisure operators, like casinos.”
Hurst added: “BGC members contribute £6.8bn to the economy, generate £4bn in tax while supporting 109,000 jobs.
“The regulated betting and gaming industry also provides some of the country’s most popular sport with vital funding.
“According to a report by EY commissioned by the BGC, horseracing benefits to the tune of £350m annually, the English Football League and its clubs receive £40m, and snooker, darts and rugby league receiving more than £12.5m.
“BGC members are working with the Government and the Gambling Commission to deliver the proposals contained in the White Paper, many of which we called for to raise standards.”
Nonetheless, Partner at Keystone Law and Gaming, Licensing and Regulatory Lawyer, Richard Williams took to Linkedin to warn that “In light of these proposals, it appears that remote gambling duty will be merged into a single tax in due course and at a single rate.
“On the basis that the 21% rate of remote gaming duty is unlikely to be reduced, the most likely outcome is that remote betting/pool betting duty will also be increased to 21% of GGY in the not-too-distant future. 2025 is likely to be negative for the remote gambling industry, but for now, the feared duty increases have not materialised.”
