Labour urged to follow through on Tory promise to levy £100m gambling tax | Gambling

Keir Starmer has been urged to follow through on the previous government’s plan to impose a £100m-a-year tax on gambling companies.

In an open letter to the prime minister, supporters of the proposal, “deeply concerned”, warned that delay could cost lives.

The Conservatives published a white paper on reforming gambling regulation last year, but many of its proposals were left hanging by Labour’s election victory.

One important measure that remains to be finalised is a statutory tax on gambling companies’ revenues to fund problem gambling research, education and treatment.

The tax was to raise £100m, which would be split between the NHS, which would oversee treatments, UK Research and Innovation, for research into gambling harm, and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, which looks at preventing harm. However, the plan was not included in the policy proposals outlined in the King’s Speech last week.

Gambling reform campaigners have also expressed concerns about links between senior Labour politicians and the betting industry and the impact these relationships could have on the future of the plans set out in the white paper.

In their open letter to Starmer, members of the House of Lords, campaigners and academic researchers called on the government to publish its response to a public consultation on the tax and to introduce legislation to implement it.

“For years, the gambling industry has exerted influence over the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm by providing inadequate funding through a voluntary system,” they said.

The signatories of the letter, who say they are “deeply concerned by the delay in implementing a statutory tax”, call on the government to continue this approach.

“This commitment has received support from all sides of the policy debate, as well as from leading NHS clinicians and academic experts,” they said.

They said any delay would “cause further harm to mental health, harm communities across the country and ultimately cost lives”.

The signatories include the chief executive of the Samaritans, eight members of the House of Lords, academics and campaign groups.

The harms associated with gambling are set to come into sharp focus this week when the Gambling Commission releases figures based on a new set of methods. These figures are expected to indicate that problem gambling rates may be higher than previously thought.

When the regulator published a trial survey using the new methods in November last year, it showed that 2.5% of the population may suffer from gambling problems; the previous estimate was 0.3%.

The commission is also expected to publish evidence of links between gambling and suicide.

Supporters of the tax say the current system of voluntary donations gives the industry too much influence over funding intended to help the very people bookmakers and online casinos make their money from.

A government spokesperson said: “As set out in the government’s manifesto, we are absolutely committed to reducing gambling-related harm.

“We will ensure responsible gaming and strengthen protection for people at risk.”

Some measures included in the white paper are already ready for implementation, including a £2-£5 cap on digital slots bets, while a pilot project testing the effectiveness of accessibility controls in preventing punters from losing large sums of money is underway.

Other proposals were left pending by the change of government, including the creation of a gambling ombudsman to settle disputes between customers and operators.

The white paper avoids any measures to limit gambling advertising, although Premier League teams will voluntarily forgo displaying betting sponsors on the front of their shirts from next season.