US stock futures edged lower on Friday, setting the stage for a rough weekly finish as worries about economic slowdown and stretched valuations in the technology sector dampened investor sentiment.The three major indexes — the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq, are all on track for steep weekly declines. The Nasdaq, which tumbled nearly 2% on Tuesday, is heading for its worst week since March, while the S&P 500 and Dow are both braced for their biggest weekly losses in four weeks.At 7.30 am ET, Dow futures were down 120 points, or 0.26%, S&P 500 futures slipped 19 points, or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 90.5 points, or 0.36%.This year’s rally, driven by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, has sent markets to record highs. But growing skepticism over AI’s profitability and excessive valuations has cooled sentiment in recent sessions.Tesla shares were steady in premarket trading after shareholders approved CEO Elon Musk’s record-breaking pay package. Intel gained 0.8% after Musk hinted at possible discussions to produce chips with the company.Of the 424 S&P 500 firms that have reported third-quarter results so far, 83% have beaten Wall Street expectations, the best showing since mid-2021, according to LSEG data. Typically, about two-thirds of companies surpass estimates.Sandisk shares rose 4% after strong first-quarter earnings, lifting other data storage stocks. However, payments firm Block plunged 15% after missing profit forecasts amid slowing growth and intensifying competition.Meanwhile, the ongoing US government shutdown has created gaps in official economic data, forcing traders and the Federal Reserve to rely on private indicators, which this week painted a mixed picture on jobs and layoffs.

The government has been told by MPs that it should not “cave in to industry scaremongering” about the negative effects of taxing online betting games, and that it should tax them at a rate that reflects the harm they can cause.

The recommendation from the cross-party Treasury committee comes just weeks ahead of Rachel Reeves’s Budget, in which she will be looking to plug a substantial gap in the public finances.

In its report, released on Friday, the committee warned that online betting can lead to harmful, addictive, high-frequency gambling that delivers no benefit to the people taking part, their families or their communities.

The report urged the government to “more sharply recognise that different types of gambling inflict different levels of harm”, and recommended that this be reflected in its approach to taxing the activity.

The committee’s report said that while various forms of gambling, ranging from seaside arcades and bingo through to betting on the races and football, are safely enjoyed by many people, there is “another side to the industry”.

The shift towards online betting games has picked up pace in recent years, with the proportion of the “gross gambling yield” associated with remote gaming rising from 12 per cent in 2014 to 44 per cent in 2024.

The committee had called for evidence of the possible effects of taxing the activity, as it held a series of sessions examining the choices faced by the chancellor in her forthcoming Budget. It said it rejected the industry’s assertion that gambling causes no social ills. It also heard evidence that it said both supported and challenged the gambling industry’s concern that increased taxation could drive more customers to the black market.

The committee said it recommends that the government examine how to tackle black-market gambling, and consider whether additional anti-tax-avoidance measures were needed.

The chair of the Treasury select committee, Dame Meg Hillier, said: “Whether at a local racetrack or a seaside arcade, for many people, gambling is a fun pastime enjoyed with family and friends. But we heard that the industry is hiding its more insidious parts behind the friendly facade of its traditional, cultural forms.

“For too many people, the highly addictive and harmful nature of online betting games has seriously impacted their lives and the lives of those around them. The impacts of problem gambling in our communities are plain to see, and the industry’s boldfaced claim to our inquiry that it does no social harm is staggering.

“Online betting games are extracting huge amounts of money from people who have been funnelled into the most addictive, harmful corners of the industry via their love of sports or the occasional game of bingo. We are urging the government not to cave in to industry scaremongering, and to tax online betting games at a rate that reflects the level of harm they inflict.”

The chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Grainne Hurst, said: “Further tax increases on the regulated online sector risk undermining consumer protections by pushing players towards the unsafe, unregulated black market – while reducing Treasury revenues and cutting the vital funding our members provide to British sport, including horseracing, football, rugby league, darts and snooker.

“We have always recognised that betting and gaming can lead to harm for a small minority, which is why our members are investing more than ever in safer gambling – including new stake limits on online gaming, enhanced affordability checks, swift data-driven interventions, robust advertising safeguards, and funding for a new £100m statutory levy for research, prevention, and treatment to tackle problem gambling and related harm.”

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Ms Hurst added: “BGC members contribute £6.8bn to the economy, generate £4bn in tax, and support 109,000 jobs, while facing an effective tax rate of up to 80 percent when duties are combined with corporation tax, business rates, national insurance, VAT, and the new statutory and economic crime levies.

“Much is at stake in the chancellor’s Budget. Get it wrong, and it’s not just jobs and growth that will suffer, it’s safer gambling itself. To protect consumers and support a safer, stronger industry, we must keep gamblers playing within the regulated market.”

A spokesperson for Flutter UK and Ireland, whose brands include Paddy Power, Sky Betting & Gaming, Sportsbet and Tombola, said: “It’s not scaremongering to suggest that tax rates of 50 per cent on machine games and online games such as bingo – as demanded by the Institute for Public Policy Research – could have a significant impact on the industry, jobs and investment.

“A tax rise is not a free hit.”