Betting and Gaming Council pushes back against idea of statutory problem gambling levy

Affordability checks were not the only bone of contention discussed at last week's annual meeting of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), with the issue of whether a statutory levy to pay for research and treatment for problem gambling should be introduced also high on the agenda.

A statutory levy has been prominent on the list of campaigners' demands for many years and had been expected to appear among the government's proposals in the long-delayed gambling review white paper. That had been cast into doubt in recent reports which suggested ministers had decided against the move.

However, last week there were suggestions the levy, which could raise up to £140 million, would indeed appear in the white paper. Funding for research, education and treatment (RET) currently falls under a voluntary arrangement, with problem gambling charity GambleAware reporting last week that it received a total of £13.2m from gambling operators in donations between April 1 and December 31 last year.