Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) CEO Grainne Hurst has said the government needs to provide further clarity on the rates operators will be required to pay under the new statutory levy imposed in November. The measure will seek to raise £100 million for gambling-related harm prevention.
Speaking during a Harris Hagan webinar on Wednesday (15 January), Hurst said: “I think there is still some much-needed clarity from government here. We were slightly surprised and concerned to see there was ratchets up in the percentages of donations on the statutory levy.”
The department for culture, media and sports (DCMS) said in November the rate to be paid by each business will range from 0.1% to 1.1% of gross gambling yield (GGY). The exact rate for the levy will be determined based on the sector, vertical and the type of gambling they offer.
Hurst said the BGC and its members were waiting on further guidance from the government on the period the levy will cover and whether operators will face double taxation on earnings when the levy is in place.
She said DCMS was expected to provide these details imminently and the sector’s current understanding of the policy is correct.
Elsewhere, Hurst referenced the advisory board that is being set up to oversee the mandatory levy and insisted this must be made up of completely independent members.
“The BGC is not looking for a seat on that,” she added. “We don’t want to influence it, but equally we need to make sure that the other side of the argument is not influencing that process. We need independent evidence that we can make policy decisions on.”
On that, she said the sector must be careful to not stir up anti-gambling sentiment and politically-led campaigns and research projects as a result of its response to the levy.
Gambling Commission not involved in statutory levy policy
Finally, Hurst said it is important existing charities that have been receiving voluntary funding from the sector, under the BGC’s voluntary levy, are not cut at the knees as a result of the voluntary deal ending.
Also participating in the webinar, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes said the regulator had no role in forming the statutory levy policy.
“I don’t think we’ve got the right expertise for that,” he said.
He warned wherever the levy’s funding will be allocated, there will be stakeholders that read into that choice and interpret it as deliberately excluding a charity or body.
“I don’t think that’s a helpful place for the commission to be,” he said.
