Richard Moffat, CEO, OLBG “We were initially worried about the rise in remote gaming duty rumours, as operators would likely have swallowed these costs by rolling out worse products, worse pricing and fewer offers for gambling consumers. When this happens, punters consider switching to the black market, where friction is lower because player protection is non-existent and taxes are not always being paid.
“The new Labour government has avoided this scenario by keeping tax rates consistent, which will come as a relief to many businesses in the sector that were preparing for the worst, and is ultimately great news for the consumer. The British horse racing industry will also breathe a sigh of relief as any increase in taxes may well have hit their income at a time when many stakeholders are in need of revenue growth.
“Trust in the former Conservative government was damaged by the election betting scandal, and Labour still have their work cut out, according to our latest survey with YouGov.
“Respondents didn’t differentiate vastly between the parties, with more than one-quarter (27%) suggesting that Labour will do no better at regulating gambling than the Conservatives. Only time will tell, but the budget has shown that gambling is some way down Labour’s new list of priorities.”
Jamie Walters, CEO and co-founder, QiH Group “The speculation proved to be just that, as an anticipated rise in remote gaming duty never materialised. While the industry clearly avoided a worst-case scenario, that does not necessarily mean this was a good budget for business.
“The rise in employer National Insurance contributions will be difficult for many small to medium-size businesses, but is at least in keeping with Labour’s pledge to protect the general working public from tax hikes.”
Neil Roarty, head analyst, ClickOut Media “Two weeks ago, when speculative proposals on taxation of the industry were announced, they had a huge deleterious impact on the market, with a total of £3.5bn in stock value lost by the industry’s biggest giants.
“These proposals never arrived, and may not even have been considered by Labour, which has pushed a gaming duty review back to next year. Gambling stocks have already bounced back as something of a correction, with Entain up 8% for example.
“This will come as a welcome surprise for the industry, and also for consumers, who would have been forced to shoulder the cost on behalf of bookmakers. The tobacco and vaping industry was in the ‘vice’ sector crosshairs instead on this occasion.”
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