Over 100 Labour MPs Urge UK Gambling Tax Hike to Fund Two-Child Benefit Cap Abolition

Over 100 Labour MPs, including a group of 11 Scottish members, have called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to impose a targeted levy on harmful online gambling products to fund the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap, a move aimed at reducing child poverty. The MPs argue that UK betting companies have seen significant profit growth while contributing relatively little to the UK economy due to offshore operations and tax avoidance. The proposed tax increases, supported by the Institute for Public Policy Research and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, include raising duties on online slots, poker, bingo, and sports betting, potentially generating over £3 billion annually. This revenue could be ringfenced to abolish the two-child benefit cap, which limits child tax credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family, thereby lifting an estimated 500,000 children out of poverty. The campaign emphasizes the public health and fiscal costs of gambling-related harms, which burden public services by over £1 billion annually. Chancellor Reeves has indicated the proposals are under consideration ahead of the upcoming budget, amid growing political pressure to address child poverty through taxation of the gambling sector.