U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled the country's 2025 budget, with the online gambling industry taking the brunt of many tax increases in a bid to lower public finances in Britain. However, parts of the betting industry have been protected.
Key Takeaways
- Remote gambling duty is set to increase to 40% starting April 2026.
- Online general betting duty will increase to 25% starting April 2027, but will remain at 15% for retail locations.
- The gambling industry is expected to generate £1.1 billion ($1.45 billion) by 2031 from the tax increases.
The horse racing industry and spread betting remained tax-free, but some in the industry fear that tax rises in other parts of the gambling sector could still have a knock-on effect.
As part of the budget, online casinos will be hit the hardest, with remote gambling duty being increased from 21% to 40% next April.
General duty on remote betting is expected to rise to 25% from 15% in April 2027, while a 10% tax on bingo is set to be eliminated in 2026.
These measures are expected to generate £1.1bn from the gambling industry by 2031.
In her budget speech on Wednesday, Chancellor Reeves said that remote gambling had the “highest levels of harm.”
While the budget appeared to be positive among the public, a YouGov poll found that 82% of Britons described the tax on remote gambling as “the right thing to do,” the budget faced stark industry pushback.
Many claimed that the tax would cut jobs and raise costs for consumers. Prior to the budget, the British Horseracing Authority and other campaigners contended that a tax hike on horse betting would be “destructive” to the industry and could lead to at least the loss of 2,752 jobs in the first year, as well as a £330 million ($436 million) revenue loss.
Horse racing is the second-biggest spectator sport in the U.K., behind only soccer, with over 1,400 meets a year.
As a result of the tax increase, shares for online operators also fell. Evoke Plc, owner of brands 888casino and William Hill, Entain, owner of sportsbook Ladbrokes, Flutter Entertainment, as well as other publicly listed companies, experienced drops between 1% and 19%.
