{"id":400,"date":"2025-08-19T14:02:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sourceforterminals.com\/?p=400"},"modified":"2025-08-22T15:34:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T15:34:34","slug":"uk-sportsbooks-slammed-for-upping-black-market-fears-over-gambling-tax-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sourceforterminals.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/uk-sportsbooks-slammed-for-upping-black-market-fears-over-gambling-tax-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Sportsbooks Slammed for Upping Black Market Fears Over Gambling Tax Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post UK Sportsbooks Slammed for Upping Black Market Fears Over Gambling Tax Hike<\/a> appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Firms accused of fear tactics<\/h2>\n

The UK\u2019s leading sportsbook operators have come under fire for allegedly using fear of the black market to rally against\u00a0potential tax hikes.<\/p>\n

Executives at Flutter subsidiary Paddy Power, Entain sub-brand Ladbrokes, and William Hill parent Evoke have all recently claimed the UK government\u2019s proposed tax hike in the Autumn Budget will force bettors to use unregulated sites and deprive His Majesty\u2019s Treasury of money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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scorned the black market angle<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The founder and former longtime CEO of Paddy Power Stewart Kenny has scorned the black market angle of the execs\u2019 argument. On Monday, the Financial Times<\/em> cited Kenny as confessing to using the unregulated offshore market claim during his time as Paddy Power\u2019s chief exec. Kenny added, however, that claims that the black market is losing government money aren\u2019t true.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Candid Kenny<\/h2>\n

Kenny went as far as expressing embarrassment over using the black market argument: \u201cWe knew it was way exaggerated, but it is the perfect way of saying \u2018the government will lose money\u2019 \u2013 but in fact it won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenny\u2019s comments come on the back of the FT<\/em> on Monday citing the execs of Paddy Power, William Hill, and Ladbrokes rallying against the calls for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise gambling taxes.<\/p>\n

Reeves is under intense pressure to find funds to increase her government\u2019s spending on benefits and harmful gambling campaigns. The likes of Flutter and Entain are in the spotlight after they and the gambling industry\u2019s leading brands posted total global profits of \u00a34bn ($4.6bn) this year. <\/div>\n

Paddy Power CEO Peter Jackson said: \u201c\u2026.it\u2019s really important (to) keep customers in the legitimate market where we can make sure we can look after them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The financial daily also cited William Hill\u2019s head of finance Sean Wilkins as stating that a tax rise will \u201conly lead to a growth in the black market.\u201d<\/a> Ladbrokes CEO Stella David weighed in against raising betting taxes, by warning of \u201cthe law of unintended consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n

U-turn and a halt<\/h2>\n

Since leaving Paddy Power in 2016, Kenny has shifted his focus away from a CEO\u2019s remit to drive profits and is a leading critic of the industry\u2019s effectiveness in dealing with problem gambling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His comments that the industry is \u201cscaremongering\u201d will likely not go down too well with British horseracing, as the sport is taking a similar stance to the leading UK sportsbooks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The British Horseracing Authority on Sunday announced no race meetings will take place on September 10 <\/a>over proposed tax increases. The strike marks, according to the BHA, the first time in the sport\u2019s modern history that it has \u201cvoluntarily refused to race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post UK Sportsbooks Slammed for Upping Black Market Fears Over Gambling Tax Hike<\/a> appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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