UK General Election: Conservative Party
## UK General Election: Tory Party – iGB
This week, iGamingBusiness.com will examine the gambling pledges of the leading UK political parties. We’ve consulted with a group of industry specialists to gather their perspectives on campaign promises that directly target gambling or could affect the sector. We’ll begin this three-part series with the Conservative Party’s policies.
**Home > Casino & Gaming > UK General Election: Conservative Party**
**UK General Election: Conservative Party**
This week, iGamingBusiness.com will examine the gambling pledges of the leading UK political parties. We’ve consulted with a group of industry specialists to gather their perspectives on campaign promises that directly target gambling or could affect the sector. We’ll begin this three-part series with the Conservative Party’s policies.
This is not a voting guide – there are numerous factors that determine who each individual supports, far beyond gambling. iGB will not take a position on which party should win a majority on December 12th, but aims to provide insights into key experts and prominent figures’ views on the policies of each party.
The manifesto states:
**Gambling Regulations**
Gambling laws are increasingly outdated in the digital age, given the development of the internet.
Well scrutinize it, concentrating on tackling loot boxes and credit card misuse.
We’re dedicated to combating gambling dependency and consider it a significant public health concern.
We’ll continue to take steps to address gambling addiction.
Business Transformations
We’ll stimulate the UK’s economic expansion by drawing in aspiring business owners. Our start-up visa and new regulations for exceptional talent will guarantee we can attract future entrepreneurs who desire to establish businesses in the UK.
Thriving High Streets: We’ll reduce taxes for small retail enterprises, as well as local music venues, pubs, and movie theaters.
We’ll support business expansion by investing in infrastructure and abilities. Our infrastructure upgrade plans will simplify operations for businesses – transporting goods across the nation and connecting with customers worldwide with gigabit broadband. Our new £3 billion National Skills Fund, alongside other substantial investments in skills and training, and our reforms to high-skilled immigration, will ensure that businesses can locate and hire the staff they require.
However, we also aim to address other everyday obstacles they encounter.
We’ll lessen the tax burden on businesses by lowering business rates. This will be accomplished through a fundamental evaluation of the system. As an initial step, we’ll further reduce business rates for retail businesses and extend the discount to grassroots music venues, small cinemas, and pubs. This signifies safeguarding your high streets and communities from excessive tax increases and maintaining vibrant town centers.
Boosting employment aid for small enterprises and lowering tax burdens for half a million small businesses are key priorities.
We are dedicated to bolstering nascent and small businesses through government procurement and timely payment practices. We will also take a stricter stance on delayed payments and empower the Small Business Commissioner to better assist small businesses facing exploitation by large partners.
Certain initiatives have already yielded positive results, but further advancements are necessary, such as the R&D tax credit. We aim to raise the tax credit rate to thirteen percent and re-evaluate the definition of R&D to incentivize crucial investments in cloud computing and data that enhance productivity and innovation.
It is crucial to acknowledge that some measures have not fully attained their objectives. Consequently, we will undertake a comprehensive review and reform of the entrepreneur tax cut.
How iGB chronicled the manifesto unveiling.
Industry expert perspectives on the manifesto:
General sentiments regarding the manifesto
Duncan Garvie, thePOGG (DG): The Conservative manifesto offered minimal commitments to the gambling market. While expressing some dissatisfaction with the 2005 Gambling Act, it merely stated that the Act would “be reviewed” and highlighted two areas currently being addressed by the Gambling Commission.
These commitments barely caused a ripple and may not necessitate any changes that haven’t already been implemented.
The Tories are scrambling to catch up on their stance on betting, attempting to outshine their rivals despite their lengthy tenure in power. Their platform centers on loot boxes and credit card transactions, issues already being tackled by the Gambling Commission. They’ve also pledged to reassess gambling regulations.
It’s intriguing that the Conservatives are emulating Nordic policies, renowned for their stringent approach to wagering. There’s a feeling that they’re aiming to crack down on the murky side of the industry, with more penalties and levies anticipated. But this could have unintended consequences, potentially leading to a decline in gambling income.
The Labour Party, on the other hand, is still struggling to gain momentum. However, they have more astute advisors and connections to major gambling corporations. This means that while they’ll initially focus on appealing to the masses, they’re likely to shift towards supporting online gambling regulations in the long term.
Reducing corporate levies, while – in a surprising twist that would leave Farage speechless during his political maneuver at La Belle Marache – providing more advantageous tax regulations for highly skilled foreign workers in the finance, business, and gaming sectors.
Over the coming decade, Britain will progressively regain the gambling enterprises lost during the Great Gibraltar relocation, coinciding with the gradual but steady decline of the Maltese gambling industry following its recent ethical turmoil. Through this approach, Britain will evolve into a remote gambling center, drawing in near-shore American gambling behemoths who find Delaware too proximate and the Cayman Islands too perilous and uncomfortable.
DG: Having said that, while the Conservatives essentially endorse the current state of affairs in their direct policies on gambling, they remain the sole party that still actively considers a no-deal Brexit a feasible option. If Brexit results in the economic adversity that numerous experts anticipate, maintaining the current state of affairs in terms of policy could still lead to a more substantial alteration in operators’ financial outcomes compared to those advocating for more significant policy adjustments.
DW: The paramount aspect here is not so much what was stated (which is largely derivative), but who uttered it. The fact that Health Secretary Matt Hancock, rather than the DCMS, spearheaded this endeavor should be a serious cause for concern.
An increasing amount of advocacy organizations are demanding that gambling regulations be transferred from the cultural ministry to the health ministry. Should this transition occur, we could potentially find ourselves on a trajectory towards prohibition (or at least something that resembles it).
Primary image: Wikimedia Commons
The second section delves into the Labour party’s platform.
The third section provides a detailed analysis of the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrat policies.
Sign up for the iGaming newsletter to stay updated on the latest developments.
