An opinion item on an Italian betting industry site reported that the Betting and Gaming Council warned the UK’s proposed tax regime for betting and gaming could push more players towards illegal gambling. The supplied text does not give the council’s estimate or details of the tax proposals.
The warning concerns the possible effect of UK betting and gaming tax policy on licensed operators and illegal gambling.
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Reportedly, the BGC has called on the UK government to exclude further gambling tax rises from its next budget. Gambling company executives also want the government to suspend a tax increase.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has asked the UK government to rule out further increases in gambling taxation in the next budget and to suspend a planned rise in betting duty. The request was made in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, signed by the chief executives of Entain, Flutter UK & Ireland, bet365, Bally's Corporation, evoke and Betfred, all BGC members, according to the report.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) urged the UK government to rule out further tax increases, citing job cuts announced by bet365. The group said higher taxes risk reducing jobs and investment and could benefit the unregulated market. It said bet365 is among Stoke-on-Trent’s largest employers and that hundreds of job losses would affect the local economy.
The Betting and Gaming Council said more than 540 betting shops had closed in Britain since last year’s Budget, with about 4,500 jobs lost. It warned that further tax increases could bring more closures and job losses; the Treasury said gambling duty rates for high-street shops had not changed.
iGamingFuture reported that BGC warned of betting shop closures under rising taxes and operating costs. The trade body said the pressures were increasing for Britain’s regulated betting sector.
BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst said the UK budget’s exemption for horse racing from the higher General Betting Duty was only cosmetic. She argued that the increase in Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% could affect racing because betting operators fund sponsorships, media rights and the Horserace Betting Levy.