UK operators shares drop after BMJ calls for mandatory gambling levy

Shares in GVC Holdings, William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair all fell today following the publication of a British Medical Journal (BMJ) report which called for a mandatory levy on operators for the prevention of gambling-related harm.

At the start of trading on Thursday, shares in William Hill traded at 150p per share, however by mid-afternoon share prices dropped to 140.65p a share, a fall of just over 6%.

Shares in GVC Holdings opened at 615p per share, however by mid-afternoon share prices dropped to 594p, falling by 3.76% in a matter of hours. Paddy Power Betfair shares opened at 6,208p on Thursday, falling by 2.68% during the day to 6,034p.

The declines come after publication of a report in the British Medical Journal entitled Gambling and public health: we need policy action to prevent harm, which called for the introduction of a mandatory levy on operators to fund prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm.

Dr Heather Wardle, lead author of the report, states the belief that Britain is “woefully under-resourced” in terms of funding and that successive UK governments have been “unwilling” to enact a mandatory levy on operators, despite regulators and some operators calling for them to do so.

In April, UK Gambling Commission chair William Moyes called for the implementation of a compulsory levy, but UK sports minister Mims Davies reiterated the government’s support of the voluntary system of funding for problem gambling treatment, asserting that she would step in if the system wasn’t working.

The report asserts that current approaches targeting affected individuals “substantially underestimate” the harms of gambling on society and that public health approaches to reduce harms related to gambling should be supported by regulation, legislation and funding.