Q&A: Social Market Foundation fellow Dr James Noyes on levelling up the UK gambling industry
The SMF report author talks to EGR Intel about a potential £100 monthly soft cap to protect at-risk players and the likelihood of increased betting duties
EGR Intel: The UK gambling market is one of the biggest and most competitive in the world. Why do you feel it necessary to incentivise operators to base operations there?Dr James Noyes (JN):EGR Intel: What sort of increase to RGD and betting taxes would be realistic for you to incentivise operators to establish a presence in the UK?JN:EGR Intel: Affordability is a tricky thing to monitor for gambling operators and the industry has previously failed on a one-size-fits-all approach. How did you reach the £100 figure?JNEGR Intel: How does this soft cap play out at an operator level?JN:
We’ve had a recent increase of RGD already from 15% to 21% following the FOBT reforms and it might seem difficult to increase it again to say 25% – although the advantage of that increase would be that it would bring it into line with machine gaming duty
If it must happen following Covid-19, raising betting duty to 21% is an option. It’s not a recommendation, it’s an option