A recent survey by YouGov shows how a majority of bettors would switch to unlicensed gambling sites. Two thirds of gamblers from the survey said that if taxes increased they would go elsewhere. Most respondents worry that this will mean unregulated and non taxed platforms.
The government is putting together a plan which would replace the current three betting taxes Remote Gaming Duty (21%), General Betting Duty (15%) and Pool Betting Duty (15%) to just have one overall tax. The talks began on the 6th May and set to end on the 21st July but many are still in the dark as to what it will be. If it matched the highest rate of 21% this could be catastrophic.
Experts expect the bigger companies will be able to handle the increase but many smaller firms or new platforms could struggle. To be able to take the tax hike bookmakers might offer worse odds or cut back on what they offer which would shrink the market and drive people to the black market. The sites would be unregulated so safer gambling measures in place.
The (BGC) Betting and Gaming Council has repeatedly warned about the risks of higher gambling taxes, saying they could harm sports like horse racing. The Betting Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst has stressed the survey proves a tax rise would not bring in more revenue but instead push customers away to unsafe, non licensed sites that don’t pay tax nor have measures in place to protect vulnerable players.
The Council say the findings “are a wake up call” for the Labour government who are nearly a year into their new term. According to the survey British gamblers spend a staggering £2.7 billion with operators in the black market and none of the money supports spectator sports like horse racing which is part of British culture.