Britain’s gambling regulator has revealed how lotteries will be required to pay the mandatory statutory levy introduced by the government to fund gambling harm research, treatment and education.
The levy has been applied to society lotteries since 1 April and to other licence holders, i.e. betting and casino firms, since 1 July. It is a key measure of the Gambling Act review, which concluded in April 2023.
UK gaming licence holders must pay into the levy annually, with invoices due to be issued on 1 September each year, and contributions based on a company’s earnings from the previous financial year.
There has been a slight difference between how society lotteries and other betting operators will pay into the levy – with the National Lottery excluded due to its primary purpose being to support charity initiatives.
For society lotteries, the levy will be based on aggregate proceeds of lotteries accrued during the levy period (the proceeding financial year before 1 September), with the aggregate amount from prizes paid during this period deducted.
Another set of requirements has been written up for external lottery manager (ELM) operating licence holders – a company outsourced by either a society lottery or a local authority to run a lottery on their behalf.
These firms will pay into the levy based on aggregate amounts paid during the levy period by the society lottery or local authority to the ELM, with the sums paid out in prizes by said company deducted.
Bookmakers and casino firms will contribute based on stakes paid during the levy period plus revenue, with prizes and winnings deducted. This may still have some significance to lotteries as many UK bookmakers do operate their own lottery style products, such as the 49s draws seen in Entain, evoke, Flutter and Betfred betting shops.
Payment into the levy has become a mandatory licence condition for licensed UK gambling operators, and falling to do so could lead to penalties with the most severe being a forgetting of a company’s licence.
Payments can be made in a lump sum or in installments either via bank transfer or via GovPay. Operators, whether lotteries, bookmakers or casinos, have been advised that all details, including invoice numbers and exact amounts, must be inputted, as errors could see payments rejected – putting licences at risk.
The UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) latest update comes as society lotteries continue to benefit from more lenient treatment than other UK gambling stakeholders. Enforcement actions against these firms, for example, are based on different criteria to other betting and casino firms.