Asked by: Viscount Astor (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the loss of (1) tax revenue, and (2) Horse Racing Levy income, due to illegal online gambling.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
(1) The information requested is not available: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not make an estimate of the amount of revenue lost through illegal online gambling.
HMRC estimates the tax gap[1], the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. For the tax year 2019 to 2020, the other excise duties tax gap, which includes betting and gaming, cider and perry, spirits-based ready-to-drink beverages and wine duties was £610 million.
(2) The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB)[2] is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; and is required to collect a statutory levy, the Horserace Betting Levy. The information requested is not available from HMRC.
[1] Tax gap statistics are available at: Measuring tax gaps - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
[2] Horserace Betting Levy Board has a separate website: https://www.hblb.org.uk/