Keir Starmer has been urged to follow through on the previous government’s plan for a £100m-a-year [$129m] levy on gambling companies. In an open letter to the prime minister, “deeply concerned” advocates of the proposal issued a warning that a delay could cost lives.
The Conservatives published a white paper on reform of gambling regulation last year but many of its proposals have been left up in the air by Labour’s election victory.
One significant measure yet to be finalised is a statutory levy on gambling companies’ revenues to fund research into problem gambling, education and treatment.
The levy was expected to raise £100m, which would be spread between the NHS, which would oversee treatment; UK Research and Innovation, for research into gambling harms; and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, looking at harm prevention.
