---

Offshore Gambling Bill

I take the hon. Lady’s point, but I think she is rather doing herself down, because the case made in this Bill and the fact that the horse racing levy exists at all show the power of the industry and the representations made on behalf of racing.

On the thrust towards a point-of-consumption basis, the vast majority of the RGA’s members are based offshore, where they pay very little tax. Therefore, although I respect the RGA in many respects, we have to take its arguments against the thrust of the change to the regime with a pinch of salt. The big exception among its members is bet365, which in 10 years has become the biggest employer in north Staffordshire. It is largely UK-based—all its sports betting has always been UK-based—because the founding Coates family believe in creating employment locally and paying their fair share of tax. Their commitment to our local area and sport in general is shown in their ownership of Stoke City football club, as the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) will very well know. Indeed, unless someone is a very wealthy race horse owner—I am looking to Manchester—owning a premier league football club is going to make a big dent in their pocket. The commitment of the Coates family is demonstrated and well regarded.

We do not see it in the RGA’s representations, although it appears in its previous submissions to the Select Committee, but Bet365 wholly welcomes the Government’s change to a point-of-consumption basis for taxation.

By virtue of that, it is important to recognise that the RGA does not speak for all its members on that matter or, because of the success of bet365, for a big slice of the UK online market.