By Eniola Amadu
About a quarter of Labour MPs have backed a petition urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to increase taxes on gambling and use revenue generated will be used to end benefit restrictions on families with children more than two.
One hundred and one Labour MPs who signed the petition revealed that tax on gambling could generate £3bn which could lead 500,000 children out of poverty.
Chancellor Reeves is facing pressure in her party to discard the two child benefit cap when she sets out her Budget on 26 November.
However, the Betting and Gaming Council in the UK has warned that increasing the industry’s taxes could wipe out billions from the economy and lead to thousands of job losses.
Head of the council Grainne Hurst stated on the Politics Home Website that expensive large tax rises would “drive customers towards the unsafe, unregulated black market where there are no safer gambling standards, no age verification, and no tax receipts for the exchequer”.
Meanwhile, Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch has condemned the move stating that tax payers, “many of whom are struggling to raise their own children or choosing not to have them in the first place” should not be expected to “fund unlimited child support for others”.
Treasury select committee chair Dame Meg Hillier noted that it was “the only way we’ll lift children out of poverty in this parliament”.
The Social Media Foundation think tank has opposed merging the taxes and instead suggested that “higher rates which are more harmful and contribute less to the British economy, such as online slots, should be taxed more”.
“Sectors which are less harmful and provide more to the economy such as traditional horse racing betting, should be taxed less,” they added.
Reeves is facing challenges, needing to find a £20 billion shortfall to meet her government’s tax and spending rules.
She has already indicated that she is considering tax hikes and spending cuts to reduce pressure.
The government is also reviewing proposals to merge various betting taxes starting in October 2027.
