101 UK Labour MPs call to raise taxes on gambling companies to tackle child poverty

More than 100 Labour MPs in the United Kingdom have signed a letter calling on the government to raise taxes on gambling companies as a means to reduce child poverty. 

The representatives are once again showing their support for the action led by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who amplified proposals set by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). 

The message being sent to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is that gambling taxes should be hiked as part of changes in the upcoming autumn budget.

Now, 101 Labour MPs have penned the letter, initiated by Alex Ballinger and Beccy Cooper of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on gambling reform, to address the critical social issue of child poverty. 

The signatories insist that there is a “compelling case” to introduce a “targeted levy on harmful online gambling products”, with the funds raised to end the two-child benefit cap in the UK. 

It is a policy that restricts parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit support for more than two children.

The IPPR claims the ending cap would immediately lift 500,000 children out of poverty, right across the United Kingdom.

No child should grow up in poverty while online gambling companies make record profits – and many avoid paying VAT.

So let's have a targeted levy on online gambling to tackle child poverty. My letter to the Chancellor with@BeccyCooper4Lab, @AlexBallingerMP and 100 Labour MPs. pic.twitter.com/OXj9z6EUNC

— Ben Coleman (@ChelFulhamBen) September 25, 2025

UK government urged to raise gambling taxes in November budget

To achieve this, the MPs are supporting calls from the IPPR to raise taxes on gambling companies, specifically on the Gross Gambling Yield (GGR). That is the surplus lifted by betting companies once returns are paid to customers.

Rachel Reeves has some tough decisions ahead, with further cuts expected in November, as well as tax increases in some areas, so many in the Labour Party feel this move makes sense.

The 101 signatories on the letter make up almost half of the total number of Labour backbench MPs, so it will put pressure on the government to act.

They take the view that gambling profits continue to rise, against the bleak situation of ongoing poverty and struggle for many ordinary people. 

Dr Beccy Cooper, the Labour MP for Worthing West and the chair of the Gambling Reform APPG, said in a statement: 

“Too many people and their families are living with the consequences of gambling harms – from financial hardship to family breakdown, damaged mental health and suicide. 

“An online gambling levy is fair, cost-neutral, and within the Chancellor’s fiscal rules. The government can show it takes both social justice and fiscal responsibility seriously by acting decisively at the Budget”.

Flutter Entertainment (owner of Paddy Power, FanDuel), Entain (Ladbrokes, BetMGM), and Bet365 are the three biggest gambling heavyweights in the UK.

Those companies and many more are represented by The Betting and Gaming Council, which slated Gordon Brown and the IPPR on their proposals. 

The body outlined that its members contribute around £6.8 billion to the economy, generating £4 billion in tax, and underpinning 109,000 jobs in the country. 

It warned that the “economically reckless” plan would push gamblers toward the underground market.

Image credit: BeccyCooper/YouTube

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