Amid the heated debate on gambling tax reform in the UK, former Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has clearly stated his stance, advocating for a comprehensive increase in gambling tax rates to raise more funds to help impoverished children.
Brown pointed out in his column in The Guardian that increasing gambling tax revenue could be used to eliminate the current cap on child benefits for two children, which is expected to help about 500,000 children escape poverty. He cited a report from the think tank IPPR, suggesting that by adjusting tax rates, the remote gambling tax for online casinos could be increased from 21% to 50%, the slot machine tax from 20% to 50%, and the non-horse racing betting tax rate from 15% to 25%, with a total fundraising estimate of up to 3.2 billion pounds.
"The government should tax industries with insufficient tax revenues to meet urgent social needs, and although gambling is not a way to build the future, helping impoverished children is," Brown wrote.
Currently, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer still supports maintaining the cap on child benefits, but many party members oppose this. Brown criticized this limit as a "national scandal," leading to 4.5 million children falling into poverty.
Brown's proposal has received support from former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, but there is a clear division within the Labour Party on this issue. Scottish MP Richard Baker defended the gambling industry, arguing that tax reform needs to balance short-term revenue, employment, and the impact on sports funding.
Brown also mentioned the experience with gambling taxes in the Netherlands. This year, the Netherlands raised the gambling tax from 30.5% to 34.2%, with a further increase to 37.8% expected by 2026. However, regulatory reports indicate that this tax increase actually led to a decrease in revenue, serving as a cautionary tale.
