Il Betting and Gaming Council urged the Chancellor to rethink the land-based casino tax, confirmed in the autumn statement.
Under measures announced by the UK Treasury, gaming tax bands applied to UK casinos have been frozen again and will not rise with inflation, effectively creating an annual tax increase of £5 million among casino members. BGC land-based casinos.
There were hopes that the freeze, first announced in March, would be abandoned, providing a much-needed boost to a sector that is struggling with rising wages and energy costs and high inflation.
Casinos, a vital pillar of the tourism and hospitality industry, currently employ more than 10.000 people who cater to more than 16 million customer visits each year. They contribute £300 million a year in taxes and around £800 million a year in gross value added to the economy.
But some have struggled to recover from the pandemic and current strong economic headwinds, which have seen closures and job losses. In 2005 there were 160 casinos in the UK, now there are 117. Four casinos have closed in recent months, including Genting-owned Crockfords in Mayfair, the country's oldest casino. In 2019, casinos employed 13.600 people, which is now down to fewer than 10.200, a reduction of 25%.
The Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, Michael Dugher, said: “Freezing gambling tax bands is a hidden tax that has the potential to slow the recovery and weaken future growth. Removing it would have provided a welcome boost for the land-based casino industry at a crucial time. Instead, the decision to maintain the status quo represents a missed opportunity for companies ready and able to generate jobs and investment across the country. Right now casinos, which play such a vital role in the tourism and hospitality sector, are awaiting the modest but crucial policy changes announced in the White Paper. It seems shortsighted to keep this tax under wraps without making changes that will allow casinos to hire and grow. The BGC urges a rethink so that playing slots can be moved with inflation to the next opportunity.”
It is expected that freezing gambling slots will cost casinos £25 million over the next five years. BGC members together contribute £7,1 billion to the economy, generate £4,2 billion in tax and support 110.000 jobs.
The BGC is working closely with the Government and the regulator to deliver the White Paper, but any changes must not risk pushing customers into the unsafe and unregulated black market of gambling, where the number of betting has doubled in recent years and the amount bet is in the billions.
Every month 22,5 million adults in Britain enjoy betting, whether it's buying a lottery ticket, playing bingo, visiting a casino, playing online or betting on football, horse racing and other sports. The latest data from the NHS Health Survey showed that rates of problem gambling are 0,4% of the adult population in England.
