10 signatures reached
To: Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer — she controls gambling tax rates through the Budget and Finance Bill.
Make Gambling Pay Its Share
Raise gambling duties on online operators and ringfence the revenue for treatment and prevention, and begin the process to end gambling advertising on television and online to protect children.
Why is this important?
I’m starting this because too many families are being hurt while a small number of online operators make huge profits. Gambling is causing sleepless nights, maxed cards, and the shame of chasing losses on slot games designed to keep you playing. That is not a fair fight.
The scale is big. Industry takings are around £15.6bn a year, with online casino £4.4bn of that and £3.6bn from slots alone. These are exactly the products most linked with harm. At the same time, NHS referrals to gambling clinics have more than doubled in the past year, showing rising demand for help. Public health officials estimate gambling harms cost England £1.05–£1.77bn a year when you add direct costs and the wider health impact. Children and young people are still heavily exposed to gambling advertising online, even as rules tighten.
Raising duties on the highest-harm, highest-profit online products and ringfencing the money for treatment, prevention and research is a fair, targeted step. A new statutory levy exists, but ministers control tax and can go further where the harm is greatest. This petition asks them to do exactly that.
