"They urged Reeves to impose higher duties on the most addictive products, such as high-street slot machines and online casino games, both of which are growing rapidly. Support for tapping these segments of the industry for much-needed revenue echoes similar calls from thinktanks and Gordon Brown, who has said gambling taxes should rise by 3bn to fund an end to the two-child benefit limit. Gambling firms have fought tooth and nail against any increase, including through a summer charm offensive with Labour MPs."
"As well as recommending duty increases, the committee also took aim at the industry's chief lobbyist for a staggering claim that gambling firms do not cause harm. In what the committee chair, Meg Hillier, called an extraordinary moment during an evidence session last week, the Betting & Gaming Council's (BGC) chief executive, Grainne Hurst, repeatedly denied that gambling was linked to social ills. You feel a moment in a room sometimes where everyone's jaw drops, said Hillier."
MPs on the Treasury select committee urged the chancellor to ignore scaremongering by gambling firms and raise taxes on the sector's most harmful products. The committee accused the industry of hiding more insidious products behind traditional activities such as horse racing and seaside arcades. The committee recommended higher duties on addictive products, notably high-street slot machines and online casino games, which are expanding rapidly. Thinktanks and Gordon Brown support larger tax rises to generate revenue, including a suggested £3bn increase. Industry lobbying resisted increases, while insiders expect a more moderate rise of £1–1.5bn. The committee linked tax rates to addiction risk and called for duties to reflect differing product harms under the current multiple-rate system.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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