Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a levy on bookmakers' profits from football bets to distribute to (a) the English Football League and (b) grassroots football.

The Government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to football or other sporting bodies. The Government invests millions into grassroots sport facilities via the Football Foundation alongside the Football Association and the Premier League. In addition to the £18m of government support this provides annually, in 2021 the government announced a further £25m investment to improve and upgrade grassroots facilities across the UK to ensure that every community in the country has access to the sports pitches they need by 2030.

The recent Fan Led Review of Football Governance stressed the importance of greater financial redistribution throughout the football pyramid. We are working with the football authorities to ensure an appropriate solution on financial distributions is found, which will protect the financial health of all football clubs throughout the football pyramid.