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Ministers set to bring in gambling levy
By Roger Blitz, Leisure Industries Correspondent
Published: October 21 2008 03:49 | Last updated: October 21 2008 03:49
Gambling companies will be told on Tuesday that ministers are preparing to impose a statutory levy from April to raise funds to help problem gamblers, following the industry’s failure to agree a voluntary aid scheme.
They will have to contribute £19m ($32.6m) for the three years from 2009-10, towards education and research into problem gambling and the treatment of addiction.
The Gambling Commission, the industry watchdog, last year concluded that between 250,000 and 300,000 people are problem gamblers, around 0.6 per cent of the adult population. A further 1.25m people are classified as being at risk.
Failure by the industry to come up with a voluntary scheme will inevitably bring with it accusations that it is indifferent to the plight of punters and strengthen Gordon Brown’s resolve to roll back the liberalisation of gambling begun by his predecessor, Tony Blair.
It comes at a time when the industry is worried about a government-commissioned review of fixed-odds betting terminals, the gaming machines which provide bookmakers and other betting operators with a steady and lucrative income. The commission is carrying out a study on their potential harmful effects on gamblers.
Talks between the commission and the industry aimed at setting up a voluntary levy to pay for problem gambling treatment have ended with little prospect of a resolution.
The commission has recommended to Gerry Sutcliffe, the minister with responsibility for gambling, that he should prepare the ground for secondary legislation for a statutory levy from April 2009. In a letter to Brian Pomeroy, the commission’s chief executive, Mr Sutcliffe said: “We are running out of time if a levy is to be avoided.” But the gambling industry is to be given a final chance to come up with a voluntary scheme.
The industry was warned earlier this year by Andy Burnham, culture secretary, that a statutory levy of at least £5m a year was likely.
Around £4.5m was raised by the industry for 2008-09, but much of this arrived at the last minute and was prised out of the big betting companies. The commission has been pressing the industry to come up with the three-year funding package in full from the outset.
But it has failed to secure any firm funding commitment and has also been unable to engage the industry in building a national problem gambling strategy.
Ministers admit that the main problems of raising a levy are establishing who should pay and how much.
Mr Sutcliffe said he still hoped the industry would come forward “with an immediate and firm commitment to the proposed improved voluntary arrangements and associated committed funding for the next three years”. |
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发表于 2008-10-23 09:05
