BGC calls on chancellor to fight offshore market

The Betting and Gaming Council has called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, to take action against unlicensed gambling sites and to increase the threshold for the small business rate relief.

Ahead of Sunak delivering his first budget as Chancellor tomorrow (11 March), the BGC said that the reduction of the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) to £2 have contributed to the closure of 1,500 betting shops since April 2019. To help small bookmakers and continues to continue trading, a reform of business rates was necessary.

The BGC specifically called for the small business rate relief – which currently allows businesses based in property worth less than £51,000 to pay less tax on the occupation of non-domestic property – to apply to more businesses.

“An antiquated business rates regime does nothing to help struggling high streets hit by a drop in footfall,” BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said. “Bookies and casinos help attract people to our town centres but once they’re gone there are few if any retailers to step in to take their place.

“We urge the Chancellor to take bold steps to help the high street with reform to business rates and casino taxation.”

In addition, the BGC again called for stricter enforcement against unlicensed operators, which it described as a “a clear threat to licensed operators” that “has resulted in a loss of revenue to the Exchequer”.

Dugher reaffirmed the BGC’s wish, also expressed last month, to see the government’s Online Harms Bill include action to crack down on unlicensed operators targeting consumers in the UK.

“We welcomed the Government’s commitment to an Online Harms Bill as an opportunity to clamp down on the black-market and the big platform search engines promoting these sites,” Dugher said. “Unlike rogue black-market operators, BGC members in the regulated sector adhere to the highest standards – including zero tolerance on under-18s betting.

“We ask the Chancellor to press for change that will help boost Exchequer revenues and stop unlicensed operators from preying on vulnerable consumers.”

In February, the BGC said that a survey it conducted found that 2.2% of UK online gamblers has gambled via unlicensed operator for one or more products in the last 12 months.