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UK trade group the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned against drastic tax hikes proposed by a think tank and backed by a former Prime Minister, including raising the remote gaming and machine games duty to 50 percent.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) also wants the government to increase the general betting duty to 25 percent, except for horseracing, because the IPPR said it already pays an additional 10 percent levy through the Horseracing Levy Board.
Tax hikes proposed in a paper published on August 6 are aimed at convincing the government to reform the gambling tax, claiming it will raise around 拢3bn for its strategy to address child poverty.
The IPPR said it's 鈥渙nly fair鈥 that gambling companies, 鈥渨hich are exempt from any form of VAT and often based overseas, contribute more to help wider social aims where they can 鈥 and the industry is booming.鈥
鈥淣ot only is there little robust evidence to suggest that stronger regulation would drive large numbers of people to the illegal market, there is even less to suggest that altering the rate of taxation will do so,鈥 according to the IPPR's paper.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also been pushing the proposals in recent radio interviews and news articles.
However, the BGC 鈥渃ompletely rejects the proposals鈥, warning they are 鈥渇actually misleading鈥 as well as "economically reckless" and will drive players to the black market.
鈥淐laims the UK taxes operators less than countries like the Netherlands ignore the reality, when the Dutch hiked taxes, their tax receipts are expected to fall, as more players shifted to the black market,鈥 the BGC said in a statement on August 7.
Earlier this week, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) said it expects gambling tax revenue in 2025 to generate 鈧40m ($46.1m) less than in 2024, blaming changes, including new affordability-linked deposit limits that came into effect on October 1, not a recent tax increase, for the decline.
Local Dutch trade groups have disputed the KSA's conclusion, arguing their data shows it's already driving some players to unlicensed online operators.
The BGC also challenged the IPPR's claim horseracing is taxed at a higher rate, as the General Betting Duty is 15 percent across all sports.
鈥淐onflating the separate Levy with tax is misleading, as the Levy goes directly back into racing to support the sport,鈥 the BGC said.
Government Considering Remote Gambling Duty Responses
Debates over increasing taxes in the UK have been sparked by the Treasury鈥檚 on proposals to create a new, harmonised single remote gambling duty replacing the current remote gaming duty (RGD), pool betting duty (PBD) and general betting duty (GBD) closed on July 21.
Currently, the RGD rate is 21 percent, and GBD and PBD are at 15 percent for most bets.
A spokesperson for HM Treasury told 91天堂原創 GamblingCompliance it is considering responses from businesses, trade bodies, the third sector and individuals 鈥渁head of making a decision at a future fiscal event鈥.
The British Horseracing Authority, cross-party think tank the Social Market Foundation and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform have led calls against harmonising duties across betting and gaming, advocating for differentiated rates based on potential harm.
