On Sunday 2 November, gambling campaigner Matt Zarb-Cousin faced off against gambling advocate Abbie MacGregor. Zarb-Cousin was there to argue that online casinos need to pay more taxes; MacGregor was there to let everyone know her opponent worked for Jeremy C-C- Corbyn:
If you’re unable to make a convincing case for excluding the gambling industry from tax increases, simply bring up Jeremy Corbyn pic.twitter.com/mGmqdLLaGV
— Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) November 2, 2025
Will these people ever move on?
The Corbyn gambling taxes?
This may come as a surprise, but the gambling industry is not your friend. In fact, they look at human beings in the same way that a rat looks at a kebab.
Zarb-Cousin was speaking on behalf of Clean Up Gambling, who campaign against the industry’s worst instincts. They’re not the only ones to speak out, with industry stalwarts also admitting these companies have gone too far:
“It’s like ordering a shandy and the barman offering you a triple-strength brandy on the house”
Ex Paddy Power co-founder Stewart Kenny at today’s Treasury Select Committee on why bookmakers need to be disincentivised from pushing people onto the most addictive products. pic.twitter.com/SK42yhlYsG
— Clean Up Gambling (@cleanupgambling) October 28, 2025
In the video at the top, MacGregor argues against tax rises for casinos, stating:
But lots of people do gamble and as you rightly said, it will be passed down to the consumer, like in every business.
Oh it will, will it?
How about instead of letting these vultures raise prices, we tell them ‘no‘ – ‘fuck off‘ – you’re going to take the hit, or you’re going to pack up shop.
And while we’re at it, why are we letting “every business” get away with this? As we recently reported, supermarkets keep inflating prices despite enjoying record profits – seriously – why are we letting this happen?
Worried her point might not land, MacGregor topped it off as follows:
Err, but what I – I mean – Mat used to work for… Jeremy Corbyn.
In debate terms, this is like dropping a gone-off cherry on a dog turd.
She tried to square the circle by claiming:
I can’t think of an industry that Matt or Jeremy Corbyn wouldn’t want to tax into oblivion.
Given that the gambling industry has a gross annual profit of £15.6bn, it’s ridiculous for MacGregor to cry poverty. Do you know who is at risk of poverty, though? The 10% of 18-24-year-olds who are at risk of problem gambling. Worse than that, 44% of these problem gamblers face a “high risk of suicidal behaviour”. This is why we suffer hundreds of gambling-related suicides every year.
Imagine trying to make people feel sorry for these blood-sucking parasites.
As MacGregor went on, the Sunday Morning Live host interrupted to say:
We’re talking about the gaming industry. We’re not going to destroy each other’s reputation
MacGregor responded:
No, but it’s – it’s – it’s – it’s – it’s a valid – it’s a valid – it’s not a personal attack, Matt
Zarb-Cousin brushed this aside, saying:
It’s always a personal attack. Just deal with the merits of the argument.
Unlike MacGregor, he did have some actual arguments, including:
Our @mattzarb on @bbcsml on why the gambling industry’s argument that tax rises would push consumers to the black market makes no sense. pic.twitter.com/hHBMSLSDHe
— Clean Up Gambling (@cleanupgambling) November 2, 2025
The @BetGameCouncil won’t turn up for debates as they can’t defend the indefensible – a commercial model that’s dependent on profits from addictive online casino and slots. pic.twitter.com/f59hVANRc2
— Clean Up Gambling (@cleanupgambling) November 2, 2025
Predictable
Every year, the rich have more and more, and the rest of us have less and less.
Point at Jeremy Corbyn all you like, but he was warning this was happening 10 years ago, and things have only shaken out as he said since then.
If nothing else, it is reassuring to know that for all the billions sloshing about, this was the most convincing advocate the industry could put forwards:
Enjoyed a range of bemused faces @mattzarb was making on #SundayMorningLive just now, as some shill for the gambling industry tried to argue that we need gambling companies to make huge untaxed profits so they can spend more on researching gambling addiction.
— Ally Fogg (@AllyFogg) November 2, 2025
Featured image via the Canary