An open letter to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been signed by more than 100 members of the Labour Party demanding a hike in gambling tax duty.
In the letter, the lead signatories – Alex Ballinger and Beccy Cooper – claim that there’s a ‘compelling’ case for gambling duty to be increased from its current level.
Nearly half of all of Labour’s backbenchers have signed the proposal, putting extra pressure on Reeves to conform when she drafts her Autumn budget in a matter of weeks.
Excessive Profits
The arguments outlined in the letter for a more stringent tax regime claim that gambling firms aren’t contributing enough of their profits to good causes.
They also claim that many operators are based overseas for tax purposes, thus employing relatively few British people in their operations, and so deliver ‘little value’ to the UK economy.
The signatories claim that UK licensed gambling brands get off lightly, relative to other countries, when it comes to taxation, and want to see the chancellor go ahead with the rumoured tax hike that would see bookmakers, online casinos and other niches pay more on their revenue.
“It’s time to confront these excessive profits, reduce gambling-related harm, tackle poverty and ensure gambling is taxed fairly,” Ballinger, the MP for the Halesowen constituency, commented.
No child should grow up in poverty while gambling companies make record profits. Gambling harms are increasing, yet gambling is VAT exempt. @BeccyCooper4Lab and I wrote to the Chancellor with over 100 Labour MPs to call for increasing gambling taxation to tackle child poverty. pic.twitter.com/8xrBQJ34Zy
— Alex Ballinger MP (@AlexBallingerMP) September 25, 2025
The group has pledged their support to the findings of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), whose calculations call for an increase in the amount of tax paid by firms on their GGY (gross gambling yield).
The IPPR wants the tax rate governing bookmakers and sports betting operators to be increased from 21% to 30%, while providers of games of chance – online casinos and slots, poker and bingo sites – would see a rise from 21% to 50%.
According to the think tank’s figures, that could raise as much as £3.2 billion in additional tax for the UK treasury.
In response, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has retorted that the sector already pays £4 billion a year in tax, while directly employing more than 105,000 people.
The ultimate loser could prove to be the humble punter, with operators likely to increase their margins and trim their promotions in response to tax rises forthcoming… potentially pushing more to the already well-subscribed black market.
More than £2.6 billion is wagered with unlicensed firms, while responsible gambling support site GAMSTOP has revealed that 8% of their members have placed a bet with a black market operator, in order to circumnavigate their account blocks with licensed brands.
At the time of writing, the government’s Autumn Budget is set to be unveiled on November 26.
Absolutely Detrimental
Horse racing will be badly hit by a hike in gambling tax, which now seems all but a certainty in the Budget – even if revised rates don’t reach the eye-watering highs proposed by the IPPR.
Such moves could cause thousands of redundancies in betting shops and within racing – ironically, pushing people into poverty, while the sport itself will likely face almighty financial challenges ahead.
Thomas Savill, the director of Plumpton Racecourse, admits that the sport is ‘really struggling’ at present, with any tax hikes to prove ‘detrimental’ to its future.
“With less investment there’ll be less owners and, as a result, less horses, thereby making the sport less competitive,” he said.
Savill, like many others, has called upon the government to spare horse racing – or bookmakers – from tax rises; instead focusing their attention on online casinos, which operate almost entirely without overheads and enjoy ‘pretty much pure profit’ as a result.
Racing joined forces earlier this month to effectively go on strike, cancelling all of September 10’s scheduled action and instead protesting at Westminster.
Government sources have claimed that no decision has yet been made on gambling taxation, while confirming that bets placed on course will remain ‘100% tax free’.
But the chairman of Newbury Racecourse, Dominic Burke, has admitted that he is ‘mindful’ of a potentially challenging future, while Ludlow Racecourse has confirmed that almost 100 jobs could be in jeopardy given the anticipated tougher trading conditions.