Michael Dugher, the CEO of the U.K. ‘s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) February 10 urged the new secretary of state for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Lucy Frazer not to propose any new taxes on gambling.
Frazer joined the cabinet recently; DCMS is responsible for gambling. Dugher urged her to publish the long-awaited gambling white paper on proposed reforms to the Gambling Act of 2005 “as soon as possible” so the industry can end the long uncertainty as to rules changes.
Dugher declared, “There are still issues to finalize, but the long-awaited package of welcome reforms should be published without delay.” He added, “We hope the new secretary of state will listen to racing and to the millions of punters who are concerned about blanket, intrusive, low-level ‘affordability’ We also hope that as a sector supporting jobs and investment in the UK, recovering from the pandemic and facing tough economic headwinds, she will reject calls for any new taxes on the industry.”
Dugher concluded, “It’s time now for the government to end the damaging uncertainty and get on with publishing the white paper as soon as possible.”
