According to the report, which demonstrates that the problems that are associated with the gambling industry tend to affect only a small minority of people, however according to Prime Minister of UK believe that it is a very serious issue which needs to be properly regulated. The role of government is to make sure that gambling is safe and fair for all (Beem and Mikler, 2011). gambling is a public-private sector in which both the government and the industries have an interest in making sure that the industry is profitable at this same time it is also favorably regarded by the public. hence it is important to well regulate the industry. As the industry has the capacity to deliver economic benefits not only to the government but to also those people who are in need (Rai and Murari, 2020). The government needs to come with an intervention that could lead to a well regulation that potentially reduces the harm of gambling especially through the means of education. besides that, the laws that have been formulated for gambling are 30 years old hence to make them more relevant and adequate for catering the modern technology and also for providing customer satisfaction the government needs to come up with more modernized regulations that have the capacity to respond flexibility to the future technologies as well as the market development. the government needs to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of its interventions (Rai and Murari, 2020).

Advantages would be that it will reduce the Social and economic costs that are associated with gambling, will make sure that the conduct of the industry is fair and open. besides that, it will also protect the third party which could be directly harmed by the gambling. however, it is also important for the government to analyze its disadvantages for their intervention would be unemployment as well as tourism benefits which of grown in demand due to the gambling services especially in poor areas of the country. besides that, the fiscal dividend that is derived from the booming industry tends to be increased which directly means that more tax revenue would be paid to the government (Smith, 2010). However, to keep a balance between the gambling industry, higher tax imposition could be a good move to reduce the negative externalities that are associated with the gambling industry according to the amendment that was passed in 2014 the gambling act which says that 15% of consumption tax on all the gross profit. Earlier there used to be a tax duty however now all the gambling companies are obliged to pay the tax on the profit which they have owned from the UK-based customers, and if they fail to do so the company will not be reissued and will also not get the license. besides that, The UK chancellor Philip Hammond in 2018 has increased the 21% point of consumption tax on online gambling which was earlier 15% (Smith, 2010). However, it is also important for the government to consider that Gambling is an addictive good, which means that demand for this would be inelastic. Therefore, the taxation would not significantly reduce the quantitative demand. Furthermore, it can also lead to people gambling under the black market which could further lead to the high chance of risk when it comes to violence and crime which will again add to the cost, thus making this initiative inadequate. Therefore, it is important for the government to come up with more initiatives so that they curb out the negative externalities that are associated with are more efficient, such as educating the people about gambling and its effect. Apart from that they can also have trained staff which is an essential regulator when it comes to managing and regulating the gambling premises. Lastly, it would be ideal for the government to make sure that they analyze their old legislation and make it more appropriate to match up advanced technology and online gambling (Smith, 2010).

References

Noyes, J., 2020. Britain’S Betting Industry Is Out Of Control. A New Gambling Act Must Curb It | James Noyes. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/21/britain-betting-industry-gambling-act-scandals> [Accessed 18 December 2020].

Rai, A. and Murari, K., 2020. Impact of Legalized Gambling on Gambling Behaviour and Monetary Benefits to the State Government : Evidence of Trade-off from Sikkim. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 13(5-7), p.30.