The World Advertising Research Center estimated that UK gambling companies spent £2 billion on advertising last year. The Betting and Gaming Council disputed the figure, putting industry spending nearer £1 billion. The estimates surfaced as UK politicians considered gambling tax changes and calls for tighter advertising rules continued.
The competing estimates inform debate over gambling taxation and advertising controls in the UK.
The day’s most important stories, free. One email a day.
Gambling companies ran more than 500 advertising campaigns on Transport for London since Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged in 2021 to ban the adverts, reportedly spending GBP 4.6 million. A spokesperson for Khan said the government was examining gambling harm and advertising, and that the mayor would consider action after the review concluded.
Chancellor John Healey announced that the UK will raise Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25%, according to the report. Healey said the increase would fund additional high-street support, while the small-business relief threshold will rise from £12,000 to £18,000. Industry groups warned that higher taxes could contribute to shop closures and job losses.
The United Kingdom will raise Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25%, Chancellor John Healey announced in the new budget. Healey said the additional tax revenue would provide greater support for high streets. Adult gaming centres and vape shops will be exempt from that relief, he said.
A group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor John Healey calling for a higher rate of machine games duty on Category B machines, including B3 machines in Adult Gaming Centres. The letter, sent on Friday, comes ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October amid speculation about tax rises for land-based casinos. The Betting and Gaming Council called the proposal "deeply misguided", citing studies that a rise to 40% could cost up to 16,000 jobs.
A group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor John Healey asking for a higher rate of machine games duty (MGD) on Category B gambling machines, including B3 machines in Adult Gaming Centres. The letter was sent on Friday. It arrives before the Autumn Budget on 28 October, amid speculation that the chancellor will announce tax increases for UK land-based casinos.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform and Peers for Gambling Reform called for a ban on gambling adverts before 9pm, alongside restrictions on television and radio programme sponsorship and online-slot promotion. The Betting and Gaming Council disputed parts of their report, saying 72% of gambling adverts already air after the protected evening watershed and citing different estimates of advertising expenditure.
The Betting and Gaming Council said the UK’s planned increase in Machine Games Duty to 25% could put nearly 9,000 jobs at risk and leave almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos facing closure or serious risk of closure, citing EY estimates. The council also cited more than 600 betting shops closed or set to close since the previous year’s budget and said over 11,000 online and retail jobs had been lost or put at risk. Its chief executive, Grainne Hurst, criticised the tax increase.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has criticised the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer's decision to raise Machine Games Duty (MGD) to 25%, the trade body said. The BGC said the increase would put almost 9,000 jobs at risk and leave almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos facing closure or serious risk of closure, according to estimates by EY cited by the council.