Boris Johnson faces a Tory revolt as he prepares to ditch plans for a “polluter pays” forced levy on betting firms.
A long-delayed White Paper on gambling reforms is being circulated to Cabinet ministers for final changes and is due for release in the coming weeks.
But it’s understood ministers are preparing to leave out a statutory levy on gambling firms, which would pay for addiction treatment and research.
According to The Times, the government has instead reached an agreement with the industry to carry on paying for treatment voluntarily, with a ‘significant uplift’ in funds.
The White Paper is also poised to include new online gambling curbs, including a maximum stake of £2 to £5, affordability checks, and a ban on free bets targeted at major loss-making customers.
But Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned the plan will be “emasculated” without a statutory levy.
He told the Mirror he believed the issue was “still in play” and a final decision had not been reached.
But he warned: “They’ll be surprised how much concern there will be on the back benches about this… If it’s correct, then it will be a very wrong move and we’ll see a lot of opposition.”
He added: “If they emasculate the White Paper then they will be surprised by the amount of opposition they will face.
“This is a serious problem at the moment with many people suffering damaged lives, families, individuals, and we need to deal with this urgently.”
Government sources played down separate reports that ministers have dropped plans to force Premier League clubs to remove gambling firms from their shirts.
The government is trying to reach a voluntary agreement rather than passing legislation, according to reports.
According to The Times, online VIP experiences will be banned for customers with heavy losses and the Gambling Commission will be given new powers and funding.
But high street casinos will be allowed to increase their number of games machines from 20 to 80, it is reported.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on gambling harms, told the Mirror: "The statutory levy is a vital part of the review. Without it any reforms will be diluted.
"Buckling to the industry on this exposes the government as being weak. The levy is at no cost to government but would provide security and structure to those cleaning up the damage of Gambling addiction."
A review of the 2005 Gambling Act began in 2020 but has been repeatedly delayed.
Ministers have been promising it in “the coming weeks” since late March.
The Social Market Foundation think tank has argued “the current voluntary funding system lacks consistency, transparency, and accountability”.
Estimates published by the government in September suggest 409 suicides a year in England are “associated with problem gambling”.
They also suggested there were “212,511 people with depression and problem or at-risk gambling”.
Combined, the cost of this suicide and depression to the economy in England was estimated at more than £950million a year.
But the review by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) prompted a strong lobbying operation from the gambling industry.
The Betting and Gaming Council insists problem gambling fell to 0.2% of the population, with 22.5million bets placed a month.
Chief executive Michael Dugher said last month: “A small but noisy anti-gambling lobby are demanding draconian restrictions for an activity they don’t approve of.”
A No10 spokesman would not guarantee the White Paper would be published before the summer recess and said officials are still “working through the 16,000 responses” to a consultation. However, the Mirror understands it has been sent to ministers for final tweaks and approval.
