The new Labour government has been looking for ways to raise money in order to pay for what they describe as a £22 billion black hole left by the previous Conservative government. And the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, produced by the National Economic Research Associates, may have found identified one way they could do that – by raising taxes levied on the gambling industry.
The UK has some of the most liberal gambling laws in the world. Online gambling is regulated and players can choose from a selection of offshore as well as UK-regulated online casinos, including the best listed for 2024. According to sports betting and iGaming writer Brett Curtis, around half of all Brits placed some kind of bet over a five month period. And, according to the country’s Gambling Commission, £6.5 billion of bets were placed online in 2022-2023 with more than 24 billion wagers placed.
The report went on to state that online gambling has a significant impact on fiscal, economic, and societal policies and that the high margins associated with online gambling mean that the industry should face higher taxes to make up for the £1.3 billion a year that the group said online gambling costs the rest of the economy.
However, the report did admit that online gambling already accounted for a larger value of tax revenue than traditional forms of betting and critics have said that additional taxation would eventually lead to players opting for offshore betting sites and casinos, meaning that the UK would receive less tax, rather than more.
A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said that not only do BGC registered companies in the UK contribute £4.2 billion in tax every year but they also employ more than 100,000 people and help to generate more than £7 billion to the wider economy.
One sector that online gambling has had an effect on is the UK’s physical gambling industry. In particular, the number of high street betting shops has dwindled in recent years. Once a regular site on most streets, a report in March showed that 1,200 betting shops have closed and that there are 30% fewer such establishments as there were just five years ago.
Part of the reason for this decline is because of the ease and convenience of betting online. However, there are other contributing factors. There are rising costs for running any store on the high street, making it difficult for bookmakers to turn a profit and remain viable businesses. And the gambling industry has seen some significant changes in recent years, with additional regulations imposed by governments and regulators.
Just last week, a group of campaigners and politicians, including former Conservative leader Ian Duncan Smith, called on current culture secretary Lisa Nandy to introduce new legislation governing gambling advertising.
In particular, they want to restrict ads that target, intentionally and unintentionally, younger people. The group also wants to prevent bonuses and incentives such as free bets.
Football teams have already agreed to get rid of gambling related shirt sponsors, although the agreement only includes Premier League clubs and doesn’t include awnings and stadium advertising, so some have questioned how effective the changes will be.
Gambling ads have already been banned during live sports events and there has been talk of introducing affordability checks on punters that are known to gamble more than £500 a month. A further report is due to be delivered on taxation within the gambling industry before the autumn budget, and this may lead to some substantial changes, at least in gambling advertisements.