Rachel Reeves left the door available to an increase in gaming taxes after Gordon Brown urged her to raise levies to cover the cost of lifting the two-child advantage cap.
The Chancellor stated she was "deeply worried" about child poverty as she faced questions about the previous prime minister's proposal to increase tasks for online casinos and fruit machine to money well-being reform.
Asked whether she was thinking about Mr Brown's recommendation, Ms Reeves stated she had actually spoken to him recently and would set out Government policy in the autumn spending plan.
Gordon Brown stated betting taxes should be raised to fund welfare reform (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
"So I talk to Gordon frequently, and saw him last week when I remained in Scotland," she stated.
"Like Gordon, I am deeply concerned around the levels of child poverty in Britain. No kid ought to mature starving or moms and dads not be able to afford the fundamentals for their household.
"We're a Labour Government. Obviously, we care about child poverty. That's why among the first things we did as a government was to set up a kid poverty task force that will be reporting in the autumn and (will) react to it then."
She added: "On gambling taxes, we've already released an evaluation into gambling taxes. We're taking proof on that at the minute, and once again, we'll set out our policies in the regular way, in our budget plan later this year."
Reforms to gambling levies could create the ₤ 3.2 billion needed to scrap the two-child limitation and advantage cap, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) stated.
The think tank's newest research stated axing the policies might lift half a million children out of poverty and "reverse years of rising hardship for low-income households".
Giving his support to the report, Mr Brown, a picture of whom Ms Reeves supposedly kept in her bedroom as a trainee, said it would be the "very first important step in the war we need to wage versus child poverty".
The Government is anticipated to publish a kid poverty method in the fall, and campaign groups have said it must contain a dedication to abandon the two-child limit.
Thanks to IPPR's report, we now know that taxing gambling more relatively would completely fund the first vital action in the war we should wage against kid hardship - ending the two-child limitation and lifting the advantage cap
Gordon Brown
Economists have actually alerted tax increases in the fall are likely required to plug a hole in the general public finances left by bad economic figures and U-turns on welfare, prompting speculation about which locations Ms Reeves might target.
The IPPR recommended increasing taxes on online gambling establishments from 21% to 50% and raising those on slots and gaming makers, from 20% to 50%.
Mr Brown added: "Thanks to IPPR's report, we now understand that taxing betting more relatively would totally fund the very first important step in the war we must wage versus child hardship - ending the two-child limitation and lifting the advantage cap."
Labour Mayor for the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram heaped more pressure on the Chancellor later Thursday, stating that raising 500,000 children out of hardship need to be "a national mission".
"Gordon is spot on," he said. "The Government has a genuine opportunity to act now and change young lives throughout the nation."
Gordon is spot on - lifting 500,000 kids out of poverty need to be a nationwide objective.
The federal government has a genuine opportunity to act now and change young lives throughout the country.
Let's get this done. https://t.co/JQY3K0jFxp
- Steve Rotheram (@MetroMayorSteve) August 7, 2025
But a representative for the Betting and Gaming Council declined the "economically negligent, factually misguiding" propositions which "threat driving big numbers to the growing, unsafe, uncontrolled betting black market, which does not safeguard consumers and contributes no tax".
They included: "Further tax increases, fresh off the back of Government reforms which cost the sector over a billion in lost earnings, would do more damage than great, for punters, tasks, development and public financial resources."