UK gambling industry group calls for tiered approach to new levy

In response to the mandatory levy that is expected as part of the UK government’s white paper on the gambling industry, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has said that the fee must be tiered to protect land-based casino operators.

The body said it was not fazed about the imposition of the statutory levy because its members had already been voluntarily contributing to support health and charitable organizations in the UK. While it was the BGC that proposed to the government last year that contributions should be made mandatory, it advised that a blanket fee must not be implemented.  

The council says a one-size-fits-all approach would financially harm land-based casinos, which have more overhead costs including more premises and staff. Similar to other retail, hospitality, and entertainment businesses, land-based casinos continue to face challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and are experiencing challenging economic conditions.

READ: Best UK casino sites in 2023

The BGC said that imposing a one per cent levy on land-based operators would result in a reduction of post-tax profits by approximately 10 to 15 per cent, owing to fixed expenses that do not impact online operators in the same manner.

Speaking on the development, BGC CEO Michael Dugher said, “What’s important is that the money goes to helping the tiny minority of people who need it, not wasted on the cottage industry of anti-gambling prohibitionists, masquerading their biased work as ‘research’. 

“But most importantly, any new system must be tiered to protect land-based operators like bingo, casinos and betting shops, who have disproportionately higher fixed costs because of buildings and tens of thousands of staff.”

It is expected that the levy will help fund the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), which has declined donations from the gaming industry until now for moral reasons.