UK MPs Propose Doubling Gambling Taxes to Support Families with Children
Lina Almans
25 September 2025
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Pictured: Labour MP Alex Ballinger
Around 100 Labour MPs have called on the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer to raise taxes on gambling companies and use the revenue to scrap the two-child limit on welfare benefits, ITV reported.
“No child should grow up in poverty while gambling companies continue to post record profits. The social harm caused by gambling places a huge burden on our public services, costing the Treasury more than £1 billion a year. It is time to challenge these excessive profits, reduce gambling-related harm, tackle poverty and ensure fair taxation,” said Labour MP Alex Ballinger.
The MPs are urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to back proposals from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which call for the tax rate on online poker, casinos and bingo to rise from 21% to 50%, on slot machines from 20% to 50%, and on retail sports betting from 15% to 30%.
Gambling Park clarifies that the proposed taxes would apply to gambling operators’ net profits.
Calculations suggest the proposed tax increases could generate an additional £3.2 billion in the 2026/27 fiscal year — enough to fund the removal of the two-child benefit cap.
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