{"id":76946,"date":"2026-08-18T07:20:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T07:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/new-uk-pm-moves-to-scrap-the-gambling-duty-he-lobbied-against\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T07:20:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T07:20:33","slug":"new-uk-pm-moves-to-scrap-the-gambling-duty-he-lobbied-against","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/new-uk-pm-moves-to-scrap-the-gambling-duty-he-lobbied-against\/","title":{"rendered":"New UK PM Moves to Scrap the Gambling Duty He Lobbied Against"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Burnham signed a council letter demanding repeal in 2025, before becoming PM in July.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Gambling Commission found a drop in licensed premises and betting shops 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Starmer\u2019s Labour government\u2019s parliamentary fix is still not in force.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Burnham Aims to Dismantle Gambling Duty<\/h2>\n<p>Downing Street announced on Aug. 11, three weeks after Burnham assumed office, that the government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/pm-vows-to-save-hollowed-out-high-streets-with-crackdown-on-vape-and-betting-shops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">intends to revoke the Gambling Act\u2019s \u201caim to permit\u201d rule<\/a>, which it described as restricting councils\u2019 ability to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine shops even where there are strong local concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The repeal would apply across Great Britain. Separately, and in England only, vape shops and adult gaming centers would require planning permission: vape shops moving out of Class E into a standalone category subject to consultation. For the first time, adult gaming centers would be defined as standalone \u2013 since, unlike betting shops, arcades and casinos, they are not currently named in planning law at all. Maximum closure orders would double from six months to 12. Ministers say the measures should take effect from the start of next year.<\/p>\n<p>The story revolves around section 153 of the Gambling Act 2005, which requires a licensing authority to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2005\/19\/section\/153\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">aim to permit the use of premises for gambling<\/a>. The duty applies only insofar as permission is consistent with the Act\u2019s licensing objectives. In the regulator\u2019s own guidance to licensing authorities, the duty binds the Commission as well as councils, and requires both to moderate gambling\u2019s impact through their powers, rather than setting out to prevent it altogether. It covers England, Wales, and Scotland but not Northern Ireland, which has separate arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>Burnham has a history with the affair: Brent Council coordinated a coalition of local authorities whose six-point plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brent.gov.uk\/news-in-brent\/2025\/september\/brent-welcomes-campaign-victory-over-betting-shops-on-high-streets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explicitly called for an end to the statutory duty<\/a> in September 2025, which he signed back when he served as mayor of Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n<p>His predecessor\u2019s government told Parliament in November that it had no plans to review the provision. The legislative body created gambling impact assessments in April, but the provision change has never been commenced.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the industry is contesting the intended revocation. Joseph Cullis of the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta) said in a statement issued the morning after the announcement that \u201cthe Government\u2019s announcement associates responsible, licensed AGCs with illegal and criminal businesses. This is totally inaccurate.<\/p>\n<p>Bacta members operate in one of the most tightly regulated sectors on the high street, uphold rigorous standards of social responsibility and make an important contribution to local employment, investment and economic activity,\u201d Cullis said the trade body would \u201cpush back in the strongest possible terms,\u201d and expects a six-week consultation with changes potentially taking effect in early 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Downing Street blamed high streets \u201chollowed out by the unchecked spread of vape stores, betting shops, and rogue businesses,\u201d citing analysis from the Centre for Social Justice that Britain lost nearly 1,800 pubs and bars while vape and tobacco shops grew to almost 2,200 between 2016 and 2026. The Gambling Commission\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk\/statistics-and-research\/publication\/industry-statistics-quarterly-report-financial-year-april-2025-to-march-2026-quarter-3-official-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most recent quarterly statistics<\/a> recorded 181 fewer licensed premises and 262 fewer betting shops than in the 2023-24 financial year.<\/p>\n<p>Where displaced activity lands is the open question. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated in November 2025 that recent tax changes alone would push <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/unlicensed-operators-set-to-overtake-uk-regulated-gambling-ad-spend-by-2028\/\">roughly $677 million (\u00a3500 million) in additional gambling activity to the black market<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Estimates of the unlicensed market\u2019s size vary by an order of magnitude depending on what is counted: figures cited by the Betting and Gaming Council <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/uk-gambling-commission-posts-65000-job-to-hunt-16-6b-black-market\/\">put it at $22.5 billion (\u00a316.6 billion)<\/a> in total activity for 2025, while measures of unlicensed operators\u2019 share of the online market alone run far lower. The BGC has made the same channelization argument against <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/uk-betting-industry-warns-affordability-checks-will-push-punters-to-black-market\/\">affordability checks<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/igaming\/new-uk-pm-moves-to-scrap-the-gambling-duty-he-lobbied-against\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Burnham signed a council letter demanding repeal in 2025, before becoming PM in July. Gambling Commission found a drop in licensed premises and betting shops 2025. Starmer\u2019s Labour government\u2019s parliamentary fix is still not in force. Burnham Aims to Dismantle Gambling Duty Downing Street announced on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362403,"featured_media":76947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76946"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}