Gambling responsibility adjustments – GOV.UK

Who is prone to be affected

Remote gaming suppliers who’re liable to account for Remote Gaming Duty. Remote Gaming Duty applies to gaming over the web, phone, by tv, radio, or another digital communications or different know-how for facilitating communication.

Gambling operators who present distant betting and are liable to account for General Betting Duty. General Betting Duty is charged on bets made with a bookmaker in UK premises or remotely (for instance on-line) by an individual within the UK no matter the place on the planet the bookmaker is situated.

Businesses who present bingo in a UK licensed premises.

General description of the measure

Remote Gaming Duty

The charge of Remote Gaming Duty shall be elevated from 21% to 40% from 1 April 2026.

General Betting Duty

A brand new charge of General Betting Duty shall be launched for common bets made remotely (for instance on-line) from 1 April 2027. The distant charge of 25% will apply to all distant betting aside from distant bets on UK horseracing which is able to stay unchanged, consistent with land based mostly betting, in recognition that operators contribute 10% in the direction of the statutory Horserace Betting Levy, leading to an present de-facto 25% charge for bets on UK horse races. Bets positioned by way of self-service betting terminals on licenced betting premises won’t be handled as being positioned remotely and can stay topic to the 15% charge for common bets. The General Betting Duty charges for common bets made in UK premises, horse and canine pool bets, monetary unfold bets and non-financial unfold bets stay unchanged.

Bingo Duty

Bingo responsibility shall be abolished with impact from 1 April 2026.

Penalties

The penalty provisions for General Betting Duty, Remote Gaming Duty and Pool Betting Duty shall be up to date to make sure that the present laws displays the provisions of Finance Act 2014.

Policy goal

Increasing playing duties will elevate over £1 billion per 12 months to help the general public funds and type a part of our ambition to create a good, trendy and sustainable tax system.

The authorities has focused the most important improve in tax on distant gaming (for instance on-line slots and on line casino video games), which is usually thought of to have decrease working prices and to be extra dangerous than different types of playing. The intention of the Remote Gaming Duty charge improve is to disincentivise playing firms from pushing shoppers in the direction of what are thought of extra dangerous merchandise.

The authorities has sought to steadiness proof and views that distant betting shouldn’t be as dangerous as distant gaming, while additionally recognising the expansion in on-line betting and its decrease prices in comparison with retail operations. The authorities will due to this fact implement a decrease tax rise for distant betting than distant gaming, whereas retaining General Betting Duty at 15%. Remote bets on UK horseracing will stay unchanged, consistent with land based mostly betting, in recognition that operators contribute 10% in the direction of the statutory Horserace Betting Levy, leading to an present de-facto 25% charge for bets on UK horse races.

The repeal of Bingo Duty helps decrease threat actions and bingo golf equipment and simplifies the tax system by eradicating one among 7 playing duties.

The adjustments to the wording of the Finance Act 2007 will present readability in relation to the penalty regimes that apply for General Betting Duty, Remote Gaming Duty and Pool Betting Duty.

Background to the measure

At Autumn Budget 2024, the federal government introduced its intention to seek the advice of on reforms to the tax remedy of distant playing, aiming to modernise and simplify the tax system. The session ran from 23 April to 21 July 2025. It sought views on introducing a single Remote Betting and Gaming Duty (RBGD) overlaying all distant betting and gaming actions, together with on-line casinos, bingo, slots and sports activities betting.

The authorities has rigorously thought of all responses to the session in addition to views shared by stakeholders throughout intensive engagement over the summer season and within the lead as much as the Budget. The authorities heard representations that distant betting and distant gaming are completely different when it comes to prices and harms and will due to this fact not be topic to a single responsibility on the similar charge. Consequently, the federal government won’t proceed with introducing a RBGD charge, and can as a substitute introduce adjustments that retain a differential between charges on distant betting and gaming duties.

Detailed proposal

Operative dates

Remote Gaming Duty

The new responsibility charge of 40% will apply for accounting durations that start on or after 1 April 2026 and shall be chargeable on income on distant gaming from that date onwards.  Where this date falls part-way by way of an accounting interval, the elevated charge shall be charged solely on the income that come up between 1 April 2026 and the tip of that accounting interval.

General Betting Duty

The new responsibility charge of 25% for distant betting shall be chargeable on income from distant betting from 1 April 2027 onwards. Remote betting on UK horse racing shall be excluded from the brand new responsibility charge, as will any bets positioned by way of self-service betting terminals on licenced premises, and these will as a substitute stay chargeable at a charge of 15%.

Bingo Duty

Finance Bill 2025-26 will repeal Bingo Duty with impact from 1 April 2026.

Current regulation

General Betting Duty

General Betting Duty laws is contained within the Finance Act 2014 (Part 3, Chapter 1).

Remote Gaming Duty

Remote Gaming Duty laws is contained within the Finance Act 2014 (Part 3, Chapter 3).

Bingo Duty

Bingo Duty laws is contained in sections 17 to 20C and schedule 3 of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 and the Bingo Duty Regulations 2003.

Penalties

The penalty provisions are contained in Schedule 24 of Finance Act 2014.

Proposed revisions

Legislation shall be launched in Finance Bill 2025-26 that:

• amends part 155(3) of Finance Act 2014. The Remote Gaming Duty charge shall be amended to replicate the rise from 21% to 40%
• provides new sections to Part 3, Chapter 1 of Finance Act 2014 to introduce the brand new distant betting responsibility charge of 25%
• repeals Bingo Duty, this repeal will embody all related provisions regarding Bingo Duty, together with sections 17 to 20C and Schedule 3 of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981, in addition to the Bingo Duty Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2503) of their entirety — the related penalty regime in each main and secondary laws can even be repealed, together with any powers linked to the administration or enforcement of Bingo Duty — financial savings provisions shall be put in place to permit using such powers in relation to accounting durations that predate the repeal
• makes consequential amendments to laws that mentions Bingo Duty with a purpose to make sure that bingo doesn’t change into liable to different duties or taxes because of the repeal
• updates the wording of Schedule 24 of Finance Act 2007 to replicate the provisions of the Finance Act 2014 as a substitute of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981, in relation to General Betting Duty, Remote Gaming Duty and Pool Betting Duty

Summary of impacts

Exchequer impression (£ million)

These figures are set out in Table 4.1 of Budget 2025 and have been licensed by the Office for Budget Responsibility. More particulars may be discovered within the coverage costings doc revealed alongside Budget 2025.

Macroeconomic impression

This measure shouldn’t be anticipated to have any important macroeconomic impacts.

Impact on people, households and households

This measure will impression people if the responsibility charge improve is handed on to them by way of a adverse change in betting odds or return to participant. In response, some people might select to gamble much less, swap to various playing actions or gamble by way of the unlawful playing market.

This measure shouldn’t be anticipated to impression on household formation, stability or breakdown.

HMRC buyer expertise is predicted to stay broadly the identical as this measure doesn’t alter how people work together with HMRC.

Equalities impacts

While this measure instantly impacts companies, there could also be oblique impacts to people who gamble if there’s a adverse change in betting odds. If a protected group is overrepresented within the playing inhabitants, then it will likely be disproportionately impacted. 

There have been no knowledge out there on the prevalence of various protected teams within the playing inhabitants in comparison with the overall UK grownup inhabitants, due to this fact HMRC can not make an evaluation of whether or not there are disproportionate impacts on these with shared protected traits. However, from knowledge on the chance of playing, it’s estimated that males are barely extra prone to gamble than females, although this varies with the kind of playing. Males are estimated to be extra prone to take part in on-line playing actions similar to on-line betting, slots, and on line casino video games, whereas females are estimated to be extra prone to take part in on-line bingo.

The age group estimated to be more than likely to gamble was 55-64, whereas the age group least prone to gamble was 18-24. However, on-line playing is estimated to be the commonest among the many 25-34 age group. In addition, younger individuals from a White ethnic background have been extra prone to be recognized as ‘non-problem’ gamblers than these from an ethnic minority background. There have been no knowledge out there on the chance of playing in different protected teams.

Administrative impression on enterprise together with civil society organisations

This measure is predicted total to have a major administrative impression on companies offering playing providers within the UK.

Abolition of Bingo Duty is predicted to have an effect on 134 companies that may not be required to pay Bingo Duty or submit Bingo Duty returns. There shall be a negligible one-off value to those companies to familiarise themselves with the brand new guidelines. There will not be anticipated to be any persevering with prices however there shall be important persevering with financial savings as companies will not must submit Bingo Duty returns. These administrative financial savings are estimated to be £0.2 million per 12 months.

The improve within the Remote Gaming Duty charge and the introduction of a distant betting charge of 25% inside General Betting Duty are anticipated to an impression on round 160 enterprise that present distant betting to UK clients, 95 enterprise that present distant gaming to UK clients and 55 companies that present distant betting and gaming to UK clients. These companies will see a rise to their responsibility payments. One-off prices embrace familiarisation with the adjustments and an preliminary updating of techniques to replicate the brand new tax charge for Remote Gaming Duty and adjustments to techniques to use the brand new General Betting Duty charge for distant bets. It shouldn’t be anticipated that there shall be any persevering with administrative prices.

These will increase will impression on the income of gaming and betting firms. How they reply shall be a matter for these companies.

Estimated one-off administrative impression on companies (£ million)

Estimated persevering with impression on administrative burden (£ million)

Customer expertise is predicted to stay broadly the identical as this measure doesn’t alter how companies work together with HMRC.

There is predicted to be no impression on civil society organisations.

Operational impression (£ million) (HMRC or different)

The adjustments to the speed of Remote Gaming Duty may have no operational impression on HMRC.

Adding a brand new distant betting charge into General Betting Duty would require adjustments to some IT techniques at an estimated value to HMRC of as much as £1.9 million. Bingo Duty repeal can even require adjustments to IT techniques at an estimated value of as much as £650,000. Operational useful resource impacts are nonetheless being assessed.

Other impacts

Other impacts have been thought of and none have been recognized

Monitoring and analysis

Consideration shall be given to monitoring or evaluating the anticipated exchequer impacts of the coverage after 2 years of monitoring knowledge have been analysed and picked up

Further recommendation

If you could have any questions on this alteration, contact John Waller on Telephone 03000 588063 or e-mail [email protected].