The UK gambling industry is pulling out all the stops to prevent the Treasury from going ahead with plans to harmonise online gambling tax.
In April, the government launched a consultation into a proposal to simplify the different duties applied to gambling products into a single tax to be called remote betting and gaming duty (RBGD).
There are fears that this would increase the industry’s overall tax bill and gambling lobbyists have been quick to act in trying to swing the government in a different direction.
Currently, online gambling is taxed in two sections – a general duty that covers racing and pool betting taxed at 15% of gross profits – and a remote duty that concerns casino games taxed at 21%.
Furthermore, according to a recent YouGov survey, 28% of UK gamblers could head for the black market if tax harmonisation is introduced.
BGC, Flutter Join Forces To Stop Labour From Harmonising Gambling Tax
According to the Guardian, lobbyists met with Treasury insiders and hosted a darts evening with Labour special advisers and MPs’ staff to try and “continue building constructive engagement across Westminster.”
The event was hosted by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) whose members include high street bookmakers and online casinos, and Flutter – the owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet.
More than 100 Labour staff and ministerial special advisers were in person to hear an address from BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst, a former executive at UK betting site Ladbrokes.
The chair of the BGC, former Labour MP Michael Dugher, also met with Katie Martin – the chief of staff to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
The Guardian reported that senior BGC figures told members in emails they had briefed Labour MPs including Jo Platt, Gareth Snell and Adam Jogee on tax as well as meeting sports minister Stephanie Peacock.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
