UK gambling breathes a sigh of relief as the Chancellor of the Exchequer backs down from raising gambling taxes. (Image by 418stdio on Vecteezy)
That’s a bit of a mixed title I’ve put up there!
The part where I am bragging is that I was right all along that if the UK government increases gambling taxes, the black market will thrive, and my theory has been backed up by experts in the British gambling scene – the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).
What sparked this title was the second part of the title. The BGC Welcomes UK budget announcement, which is a response to the new UK budget announcement that suggested it would raise tax on gambling – a move that would have spelt disaster for gambling businesses and players.
Good News – No Rise in Gambling Taxes
Thankfully, the UK budget announcement announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on October 30, 2024, did not mention any raise in taxes on Britain’s gambling taxes.
This is excellent news, and the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) quickly put out a same-day statement commending the Chancellor of the Exchequer for realising a rise in taxes would put thousands of jobs at risk and only serve to fuel the already uncontrolled growth of UK black market online casinos and sports betting platforms.
For those of you who have been following our legislative or economy gambling news under the Casinoplusbonus casino news menu or regularly check the news section directly from our UK casino page. In that case, you may have come across this new report – UK Government Lost the Plot Doubling Gambling Taxes.
My Stance on the Current UK Gambling Landscape
When I heard the news that the British government was planning on doubling gambling taxes, I have to say I was in shock. Hence the emotional title – UK Government Lost the Plot Doubling Gambling Taxes.
I have already been firmly against some of the new rules being put into place that are harming the British gambling scene. A scene I am passionate about because I still live in the UK for 3 to 4 months per year in the summertime.
Being a Canadian who has worked and lived in the UK for the better part of my life, seeing the wave of new rules after new rules negatively affect player experiences in the UK gambling market, mostly online, has continuously infuriated me.
If you have followed my news for any length of time, you will know I am a regular Hippodrome Casino player, especially at the PokerStars Live tables. I am also a member of 21Casino, William Hill, and 888Casino sports and casino platforms.
I am, in effect, a British gambler. Therefore, when seeing these new rules come in and affect my playing experience, it always plants that seed in my mind: ‘Will I get better value playing at a crypto casino while I am in the UK?’
I say this because when I do visit London, I play on my UK casino accounts. Yet, if taxes rise and more stringent rules continue to reduce the value I get from the casino and sports books I am a member of, what is the point of me playing at a UKGC casino?
Especially when I am a Canadian who has access to VPN-friendly crypto casinos legally via my Canadian address and citizenship. Not only that. I already know that several of my Brit pals play at crypto online casinos from the UK, and these platforms are dubbed ‘black market’.
The Current Rules Should Not Change Any Further
We’ve seen slot machines have quick spin, auto-play, and bonus buy features removed and spins set to a minimum of 2.5 seconds. OK – so I agree with this because it does help to slow players down and stop them from spending so much money. Even as a slot player myself I can appreciate this.
Yet, the new 1% levies on all online gambling companies is already a hefty bill to pay. The reduction of max spin bets to £2.00 a spin for anyone under 25 and £5.00 per spin for anyone 25 or over does not affect me as my max bet is £0.20 to £0.50 per spin anyway.
Yet, I know wealthy people who don’t want to pass affordability checks and want to spin for more than £5.00 per bet, and they use crypto casinos.
Enough is enough. I believe the UK government has done what needs to be done to reduce problem gambling in the country. No more new rules need to be implemented.
And raising taxes is not going to help reduce problem gambling, which was the aim of the white paper. All it is going to do is reduce the value casinos and sports books pass to players and send those players to black market crypto platforms.
As per the BGC response to the Budget news report – “Duty rises now would have hit customers, prevented growth, risked jobs and bolstered the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market. With policy for the sector already set, our members can look to support the Government’s ambitious growth agenda, generating tax, jobs and investment across the nation”.
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