Whitehall raised questions about the amount of money a gambling levy could raise before Chancellor Rachel Reeves pushed ahead with tax hikes in the Autumn Budget.
A Freedom of Information request seen by City AM shows analysis by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in response to proposals by the Social Market Foundation and former Prime Minister Gordan Brown which would “tap the sector” to the tune of £2bn [$2.7bn].
The analysis suggested that a gambling duty would not raise what the Social Market Foundation had hoped, describing its purported value to the Treasury’s coffers as “unrealistic”, while it also warned of a boost to the black market and job losses.
