Simmonds Believes Mandatory Levy Would Be Counterproductive

Brigid Simmonds, the chairman of Britain’s Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) has criticized the appeals for the introduction of a new safer gambling tax. She is certain that the profoundly-discussed mandatory levy would not provide the extra fund people are hoping on.

Industry Critics Continue Asking for a Mandatory Levy

The United Kingdom is set to reregulate its gambling market and introduce regulations that are more sensible and better suited for the modern age. The long-overdue white paper is expected to be published any time now, making talks about the future of the industry even more heated.

Industry opponents believe that stricter regulations are needed in order to bring problem gambling rates down. Such parties have been calling for the introduction of a mandatory safer gambling levy that would force companies to provide a part of their proceeds as funding for the research of gambling harm. This idea, if implemented, would effectively replace the current system of voluntary donations.

However, industry proponents believe that such a measure might end up being counterproductive. As reported by Gambling Insider, Simmonds spoke in detail about her institution’s position on the issue during BGC’s AGM in London.

Brigid Simmonds Is Against the Levy

Simmonds reaffirmed the industry’s stance on problem gambling, saying that all of its members’ principles are based around improving safer gambling standards. She noted that the BGC is supportive of measures that would curb gambling harm rates but believes that such changes need to be proportionate. In addition, Simmonds emphasized that the industry would support initiatives that target at-risk people rather than backing blanket measures.

Speaking about the proposed levy, Simmonds said she is certain that such a measure would have the opposite of the intended effect. According to BGC’s chair, its members already provide significant funding for the research of problem gambling, thanks to which problem gambling rates have been on a steady decline.

According to Simmonds, a mandatory levy would destroy this functional system.

The levy would not raise additional funds for RET; instead, it would work to dismantle a voluntarily funded, charitable group of members that has existed for over two decades. It would be too easy for that tax to rise and be used for something other than its original purpose.

Brigid Simmonds, chair, BGC

Speaking about donations from the gambling industry, GambleAware just published the list of its benefactors and the amounts they donated between April 2022 and December 2022. The results show that over 90% of all donations come from Entain and bet365, two of the biggest gambling companies in the United Kingdom.