According to recent reports, some of the largest gambling operators in the UK have reached out to Treasury officials to lobby against the further restrictions that are being proposed to apply to the industry, claiming that such a crackdown will result in lost tax receipts worth millions of pounds.
Reportedly, executives of bet365, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power have held a meeting with some HM Revenue and Customs officials to warn that any further crackdown measures on the local gambling sector could scare customers off and encourage them to choose companies that operate on the black market. The meeting was not required to be automatically disclosed because it was held with tax officials rather than Members of Parliament.
As reported by The Guardian under freedom of information laws, some bet365, Entertain and Flutter Entertainment executives held an online meeting with tax specialists from the UK Treasury on October 7th, 2021, at which they warned about the possible negative effects of the proposed regulatory crackdown.
The gambling operators submitted a report by the multinational professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was commissioned by the sector and found an increase in the scales of the UK black online gambling market. Furthermore, some of the country’s gambling industry officials have claimed that the stricter rules could seriously affect the about £3.2 billion worth of taxes the sector hands to the UK Treasury on an annual basis.
According to the companies’ executives, the UK Government should take a holistic approach when it comes to regulatory and tax changes in the upcoming months because there was a “very real risk” of significant unfavourable effects for the regulated sector. In the 2-page document, seen by The Guardian under freedom of information legislation, the companies’ officials say they would be more than happy to engage in further dialogue with local tax officials in order to discuss the suggested measures with the DCMS white paper.
Anti-Gambling Campaigners Call for Further Restrictions for the Local Gambling Sector
As Casino Guardian already reported, the UK Government is expected to soon publish the white paper on the proposed reforms for the country’s gambling market. According to reports, the measures that are being considered by the Government could mark the strictest-ever crackdown on the local gambling sector as part of the authorities’ efforts to tackle the potential negative effects that could be inflicted on British gamblers.
The director of the anti-gambling organisation Clean Up Gambling, Matt Zarb-Cousin, has warned that the industry is trying to reduce the effectiveness of the proposed reforms of the UK Government by lobbying tax officials and making claims that the proposed measures would seriously hurt the sector’s performance. According to him, the industry used massive propaganda that had been part of its tax avoidance for years.
Mr Zarb-Cousin further shared his hopes that the Treasury would not believe the claims of the local gambling giants and said that the lobbying campaign required full transparency.
As Casino Guardian already reported, the ongoing review of the UK gambling legislation was officially unveiled in December 2020 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) following concerns that far too many Brits are suffering from gambling-related harm. According to a 2018 survey of the National Health Service (NHS), about 245,000 English people could be categorised as gambling addicts, while in 2021, a Public Health England research found that more than 400 suicides are associated with problem gambling every year.
Anti-gambling campaigners have been insisting that a new levy is imposed on the gambling industry so that problem gambling research, education and treatment are funded. Furthermore, they are also willing to see stricter affordability checks unveiled so that customers are not allowed to spend more than they can actually afford to on online slot machines. Campaigners have also been insisting on a ban on gambling operators’ VIP programmes and gambling advertising linked to sporting events.
- Author
Daniel Williams
