Calls for mandatory levy resurface as industry clamps down on gambling harms and cost of living crunch
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GambleAware has called for a mandatory one per cent levy on post winning earnings from operators as the government heads for gambling reform.
The charity has argued that a levy would “provide stability and the best-in-class solutions to prevent gambling harms”, and could be reallocated into longer-term planning and commissioning for problem gambling services.
The charity estimates that £140m could be raised from this tax, and serve as a licensing condition for the gambling firms operating in the UK.
“The ongoing impact of the pandemic, a growing cost-of-living crisis and shift to online gambling means there is a potential increased risk of people experiencing gambling harms that remains unseen until an individual reaches a crisis point,” said Zoë Osmond, GambleAware’s chief.
“Without action now, many more people and families could suffer. That’s why we are calling on the Government to introduce a mandatory, one per cent levy of GGY on the gambling industry as a condition of licence.”
GambleAware has also laid out five other principles that make up its agenda for change; these include support for deprived communities and delivering local prevention and treatment services.
Director of Clean Up Gambling Matt Zarb-Cousin told City A.M. that the proposal of a levy was “long overdue”.
“The amount that’s donated, and which organisations get to receive funding, should not be up to the gambling operators as it is now. An independent and expert statutory levy board should be established to administer and allocate these funds instead”, he said.
