Thw Betting and Gaming Council today (THURS) urges the Chancellor to reconsider a stealth tax on land-primarily based totally casinos, showed withinside the Autumn Statement.
Under measures introduced with the aid of using the Treasury, Gaming Duty Bands implemented to U.K. casinos were frozen once more and could now no longer upward thrust with inflation, successfully growing a £5m annual tax boom throughout BGC land-primarily based totally on line casino participants.
There had been hopes the freeze, first introduced in March, could be abandoned, offering a much-wished raise to a region that is suffering with growing wages and strength charges plus excessive inflation.
Currently, casinos, a crucial pillar of the tourism and hospitality region, hire greater than 10,000 humans catering to over sixteen million client visits each yr.
They contribute £300m yearly in taxes and an estimated £800m a yr Gross Value Added to the economy.
But a few have struggled to rebound from the pandemic and the contemporary difficult monetary headwinds, which has visible closures and task losses.
In 2005 there had been one hundred sixty casinos withinside the UK – now there are 117. Four casinos have closed in latest months, consisting of Genting-owned Crockfords in Mayfair, the oldest on line casino withinside the country.
In 2019 casinos hired 13,six hundred humans, which has dropped to much less than 10,2 hundred now, a 25 consistent with cent reduction.
Betting and Gaming Council CEO Michael Dugher, said: “Freezing Gaming Duty Bands is a stealth tax which has the capability to gradual recuperation and weaken destiny growth.
“Removing it’d have supplied a fine addition for the land-primarily based totally on line casino region at a critical time.
“Instead, the choice to preserve the reputation quo represents a neglected possibility for organizations prepared and capable of generate jobs and funding throughout the country.
“Right now casinos, which play this sort of crucial function withinside the tourism and hospitality region, are awaiting the modest however undertaking vital coverage adjustments introduced withinside the White Paper.
“It appears brief sighted to preserve this stealth tax at the same time as failing to make adjustments in order to permit casinos to rent and grow. The BGC urges a re-assume so Gaming Duty Bands may be moved with inflation at the following possibility.”
The freeze on Gaming Duty Bands is predicted to fee casinos £25m over the following 5 years.
BGC participants blended contribute £7.1bn for the economy, generate £four.2bn in tax at the same time as assisting 110,000 jobs.
The BGC is running intently with Government and the regulator to supply the White Paper, however any adjustments have to now no longer danger riding clients to the unsafe, unregulated playing black marketplace in which the numbers having a bet have doubled in latest years and the quantity wagered is withinside the billions.
Each month 22.5m adults in Great Britain revel in a bet, whether or not it’s shopping for a lottery ticket, having a sport of bingo, touring a on line casino, gambling on-line or having a bet on football, horseracing and different sports.
We are advocated with the aid of using the ultra-modern figures from the NHS Health Survey which confirmed trouble playing prices are 0.four consistent with cent of the grownup populace in England.