It comes as former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike gambling taxes so she can lift benefit restrictions at her autumn Budget.
A clear majority of the British public support raising taxes on online gambling in order to fund efforts to tackle child poverty, a new poll has found.
The poll, carried out by YouGov found that 70% of Britons would support raising taxes on online gambling, following Gordon Brown calling for an increase in the levies to fund efforts to tackle child poverty. Only 16% of those asked said they opposed the move.
It comes as former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike gambling taxes so she can lift benefit restrictions at her autumn Budget.
The former Labour prime minister and chancellor told the BBC Britain was facing a “social crisis” with a growing need to take children out of poverty. He says that hiking taxes on the “undertaxed” gambling industry was “by far the most cost-effective way” for the chancellor to do this.
Brown wrote in the Guardian: “Gambling levies aren’t the only source of revenue that could pay to alleviate child poverty. But this should be one straightforward budget choice. The government can fulfil today’s unmet needs by taxing an undertaxed sector.”
The former Labour leader said: “Betting and gaming was an £11.5bn sector last year that incurred only £2.5bn in tax. As much as £3bn extra can be raised from taxing it properly.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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