Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) CEO Grainne Hurst has further warned the UK government against increasing gambling taxes, highlighting the potential adverse impact on UK bettors.
In April, the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs opened a joint consultation exploring the possibility of introducing a unified Remote Betting and Gaming Duty (RBGD) in the UK.
The RBGD would harmonise pool and general betting duty (both 15%) with remote gaming duty (21%) at a single rate.
Think tanks, such as the Institute for Public Policy and Research, proposed increasing both remote gaming duty and machine gaming duty to 50%, while doubling general betting duty from 15% to 30% – a suggestion previously described by the BGC as “economically reckless”.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown backed said proposals, claiming they would raise £3.2bn and suggesting they were a “straightforward budget choice”.
Last week, 101 Labour MPs signed an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for an increase in online gambling taxes, urging the UK to bring its rates in line with other jurisdictions across Europe and the US.
Reeves is due to deliver the Autumn Budget in November. She expressed her displeasure with the open letter last week, insisting her decision would be revealed at the budget.
Hurst has claimed that any tax hikes represent a “quick fix” which don’t have the best interests of UK bettors at heart.
She said: “If the Chancellor didn’t have enough on her plate trying to fix the creaking economy she inherited, in recent weeks she has also had to contend with anti-gambling prohibitionists who have whipped up calls for punitive tax hikes on punters.
“They have sold this policy as a quick fix, an easy solution, but the truth couldn’t be further from the truth. Each month 22.5 million people enjoy a bet, in bookmakers on hard-pressed high streets, in casinos, which are a pillar of our leisure and tourism sector, plus in bingo halls and online.
“It’s these millions of people who will feel the hit if this government caves to the demands from those who look down their noses at people who enjoy a bet, and who have gleefully heaped more pressure on the Chancellor.
“Their number includes former colleagues and local Labour politicians who ignore the investment we make in their constituencies, and should know better.
“Betting and gaming isn’t a pastime enjoyed by the select few, it’s the nation’s hobby. And it’s that passion for a flutter that has created one of this country’s few, genuine global business success stories.”
While the open letter from the Labour MPs included the Netherlands as an example of a country the UK should be looking to emulate regarding its tax structure, Hurst suggested it should instead be used as a cautionary tale.
The Dutch gambling tax rate increased from 30.5% to 34.2% in January, with a further increase to 37.8% scheduled for January 2026.
Hurst added: “Each year 1.5 million Brits stake up to £4.3bn on the growing unsafe gambling black market. This black market doesn’t care about player protections, doesn’t back sports and doesn’t pay a penny in tax. And it’s growing daily. The last thing it needs is another leg up in the form of a new tax hike.
“We only need to look to the Netherlands to see this playing out right now. They lumped up tax on online gaming to 34.2% in January; it directly led to a 25% decrease in gross gambling revenue, and a tax shortfall of €200m.
“Increased taxes did not mean increased tax take – it meant less. Because we know what the think tank academics don’t: punters will change their behaviour in response to tax hikes. They will bet in the illegal market who pay no tax.”
Hurst added that further tax increases will be detrimental to sports which benefit from contributions made by BGC member operators.
She said: “Our members can support sports which millions enjoy a bet on, from horseracing, which benefits to the tune of £350m, to the English Football League and its clubs which receive £40m, as well as snooker, darts and rugby league which receive more than £12.5m annually.
“But all that is placed at risk if the government caves to pressure and entertains the exorbitant tax hikes being touted by anti-gambling campaigners, who don’t want to solve society’s problems, they just want to ban betting.
“We want the Chancellor to succeed. We want to be a partner in the growth she is so ambitious to deliver. Indeed, we are one of the few sectors ready to deliver it both locally and nationally.
“But we need balanced regulations and a stable tax regime to do that, not more uncertainty. The Chancellor faces many pressures; she needs solution, but hitting punters with more taxes won’t solve anything.”
The BGC’s lobbying efforts against the potential tax hikes have increased in recent weeks. Hurst featured on the front page of the Daily Star, while the trade body boss also spoke to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month.
Boutique analyst firm Regulus Partners last week claimed the UK gambling market was close to the “tipping point of the Laffer Curve”, and that any tax increases could actually reduce tax yields.
The post BGC CEO: Gambling tax increases “won’t solve anything” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Grainne Hurst warns of the dangers of driving bettors towards the black market, citing the Netherlands as a cautionary tale for the Labour government to heed
The post BGC CEO: Gambling tax increases “won’t solve anything” first appeared on EGR Intel.