Treasury working with racing to identify 'unintended consequences' of gambling tax proposals

The Treasury is working with British racing to identify the "unintended consequences" of its plans to harmonise online gambling taxes, the House of Commons was told on Tuesday.

James Murray MP, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said the government was looking to identify "mitigations" to its proposals, although gambling industry body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) later warned there could be "no carve out".

The Treasury is consulting on plans to  replace the existing three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single Remote Betting and Gaming Duty which would tax bets on horseracing at the same rate as online casino and slot games.

It is feared that would increase costs for online bookmakers, reducing promotion of the sport and leading to fewer people betting on racing, in turn hitting the sport's finances.

Murray was speaking at Treasury questions in the Commons and was responding to Sally Jameson, the Labour MP for Doncaster Central, who had asked what assessment ministers had made of the potential impact of the tax plans on the horseracing industry. Jameson said that Doncaster racecourse was "part of our local community and brings thousands of jobs".

She added: "Will the minister confirm that he will continue dialogue with the horseracing industry, noting that it brings 85,000 jobs to the country nationally and is the second largest spectator sport in the country, and identifying that this is very different from online casinos and games of chance?"

Murray replied: "I reassure her that we will absolutely continue close dialogue with the horseracing industry on these proposals. I and my officials are working closely with the horseracing sector to identify any unintended consequences and possible mitigations. We intend to continue those conversations with the industry, and we welcome further engagement."

Murray had earlier said the Treasury was consulting on measures "to simplify gambling duty and improve compliance" and no decision would be made on rates before the budget in the autumn.

The BHA later thanked Jameson for highlighting the potential impact of the gambling tax harmonisation proposals, adding it was looking forward to further discussions with the Treasury.

Grainne Hurst: "There can be no carve out"

BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst welcomed the issue being raised in the Commons but warned any tax rises on bookmakers would "hammer racing".

She added: "Our members do not ring fence different betting products, it is not one or the other. There can be no carve out. Any additional costs impact entire businesses. Increased taxes will undermine the offer across the board, and the reality is, racing is vulnerable to these changes.

"BGC members are racing fans, we want the sport to thrive, but raising more taxes now on regulated betting and gaming through a new single tax would be utterly self-defeating for the government, and sports.

“It will also likely push investment and jobs overseas, while making the products more expensive for UK customers, driving them to the growing dangerous gambling black market online, which doesn’t pay a penny in tax and doesn’t have any of the safer gambling protections available in the regulated sector."

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'It is going to affect racecourses and it is going to affect jobs' - Jim Mullen on 'daft' plans for tax harmonisation 

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