Gambling Reform Group Appoints Labour MP Dawn Butler as Vice Chair

Labour MP Dawn Butler has been appointed as Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform (APPG), with the group adding a key advocate for gambling reform, particularly in the field of retail betting.

Butler, MP for Brent East, has been one of the standout figures within parliament calling for the removal of the ‘aim to permit’ rule stipulated in the Gambling Act 2005, where the default starting point in a license application would be for the license to be granted; a licensing authority would have to justify its reasons for rejecting a license application if it wished to do so.

In April, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act received Royal Assent. This essentially flips the rule and requires the applicant to prove its application is in line with licensing objectives, with the default position being that the local authority can reject the application.

“Ridiculous” betting shops

When speaking to the Health and Social Care Committee on the matter, Butler said:

“I am tired of seeing the number of betting shops on the high street in Brent, and how every time there is an empty shop, another betting shop opens in its place. In Harlesden, we have 10 betting shops within a 10-minute walk, which is absolutely ridiculous.”

Regarding its appointment of Butler, the APPG is quoted by SBC News as saying:

“We are delighted to have Dawn take on this new role and look forward to continuing our work together to deliver stronger protections for individuals, families and communities across the UK.”

Scaling down retail

Butler’s appointment comes at a time where UK operators are scaling down their retail operations, in light of increased taxation. In April, remote gaming duty, paid on online casino bets, was raised from 21% of gross gambling yield (GGY) to 40%. There will also be a rise in general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, which will go up from 15% of GGY to 25% in April 2027; bets on horseracing will be exempt from the increase.

Several operators have since announced shop closures, in part as a knock-on effect from the raised tax. In September, Flutter Entertainment confirmed up to 100 of its Paddy Power shops are “under review”, with approximately 400 jobs being at risk of redundancy.

Shop closures have been announced by William Hill owner Evoke, which confirmed in April it would be closing 270 of its shops, representing about 15% of its retail estate. Meanwhile, Betfred announced in July plans to close 132 of its shops and reduce its workforce by more than 600 employees.

In August, industry trade body the Betting and Gaming Council said 540 high-street betting shops have closed and around 4,500 jobs have been lost since last year’s Autumn Budget in November, when the tax increases were revealed.

Machine games duty next?

Butler’s appointment comes shortly before this year’s Autumn Budget, which will be announced by Chancellor John Healey next Wednesday. According to The Times, Healey is likely to announce an increase in machine games duty, which will go up from 20% of net takings to 25%.

While this would once again impact operators’ retail operations, a raising of the rate to 25% would at least be significantly less damaging than a new rate of 40%, which has been recommended by cross-party think tank the Social Markets Foundation.