Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) finances and (b) usage of the football pools of the reduction in the pools duty from 15 per cent to one per cent.

Pool Betting Duty raises around £4m in revenue for the Exchequer per year. Cutting Pool Betting Duty to 1% could pose a risk to the public finances from a reduction in General Betting Duty revenue as bookmakers would have an incentive to switch their products from fixed odds bets to pools bets.

It is unlikely to increase usage of the football pools which has been in long term decline due to the poplularity of other gambling products.