The UK gambling industry, valued at £11.5bn annually, is intensifying lobbying efforts to avoid higher taxes and stricter regulations, including on advertising. This push comes as figures like Gordon Brown and Andy Burnham call for increased scrutiny and local control over gambling premises.
Gordon Brown has argued that gambling is undertaxed, urging higher levies to fund the removal of the two-child benefit cap, which costs £3bn. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) supports this, noting that high street gambling venues are concentrated in deprived areas, linking industry profits to social harm.
The cross-party Social Market Foundation also recommends raising remote gaming duty on online casinos from 21% to 50%, a move that could generate significant revenue. Currently, remote gaming duty contributes £1.2bn of the total £3.6bn in gambling taxes. Thinktanks argue that targeting online gambling is more effective than harmonising tax rates across the sector.
Andy Burnham in Manchester and Dawn Butler in London are leading campaigns for councils to have greater power to block new gambling premises. They argue that local politicians should have more say over planning decisions in this sensitive area, which is currently lax compared to other countries.
Ministers are urged to resist industry lobbying and focus on addressing gambling harms, including addiction. The editorial concludes that a public reckoning with the industry's dark side is long overdue, especially given the concentration of gambling outlets in poorer communities.
