BGC issues new warning over gambling tax policies that could "put business at risk"

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has reiterated its calls to the UK government to avoid introducing any new taxes or higher tax rates that could harm the gaming industry in its upcoming gambling review.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is this week due to deliver his first budget as a chancellor of the exchequer and while the BGC said it supports the government’s economic plan of “Enterprise, Education, Employment and Everywhere,” it warned against measures that could interfere with growth, threaten jobs or undermine customer experience.

The budget will take place during the major Cheltenham Festival horse racing event and ahead of the publication of the White Paper on gambling, which is expected to include a number of reforms to the gambling the industry. 

Jeremy Hunt.

BGC chief executive Michael Dugher noted that in addition to the ongoing regulatory upheaval facing the sector, that all businesses, including BGC members, are trying to rebuild following a series of economic blows. 

Dugher said the government should consider how higher taxes could impact this recovery, members of the industry and consumers. “The regulated industry already plays a huge role in the UK economy, and we are keen to go further and contribute even more,” he stated. 

However, he did note that, in order to deliver on this ambition, a pro-business budget is needed, which implies no new tax rises and a balanced gambling white paper protecting the vulnerable “while not spoiling the customer experience of the majority who bet perfectly safely.”

“Our industry includes world-leading British tech, as well as businesses supporting high street retail, plus those in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors. Ministers should be protecting investment and jobs at this challenging time,” he said, and added that new taxes and draconian regulations will “put business at risk.”

The former Labor MP also took aim at the imposition of affordability checks on gaming businesses, which is seen as one of the more controversial industry potential provisions of the white paper. He stated there is a strong need to see “long overdue changes to help land-based casinos with their recovery.”

Michael Dugher.

According to the BGC, affordability checks increase the risk of people heading to the black market, with 92% of respondents to a recent BGC-commissioned survey stating that they would consider using a different bookmaker if no personal information was required. 

Dugher pointed out that “intrusive, blanket low-level affordability checks, such as those called for by the anti-gambling lobby, which only serve to drive customers to the unsafe, unregulated black market online,” should be stopped.

This year’s budget comes during the Cheltenham Festival, one of the biggest weeks in the betting and gaming industry’s calendar, with 274,000 attendees generating an estimated GBP 274 million for the local economy, as per BGC data.

The Council underscored it “strongly supports” the Gambling Review as a further opportunity to raise standards and promote safer gambling, but any changes introduced by the Government “must not drive customers towards the growing unsafe, unregulated black market online.”