UK Gambling Companies’ Fears Confirmed as Taxes Increased in Budget

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The UK gambling trade’s fears have come to pass in the form of a major tax hike in Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget.

According to The Guardian on Wednesday, the Treasury chief has raised the remote gaming duty (RGD) for online casino firms from 21% to 40%.

carve-out for horse racing”

While tax for retail sportsbooks will remain at 15%, online sports betting tax for brick-and-mortar venues will rise to 25% “with a carve-out for horse racing.”

The tax hikes that many industry bodies and people have said will “render some businesses unprofitable and cost thousands of jobs” take effect from April 2026.

Betfred boss Fred Done was one of many UK gambling executives to warn of the effects of a hike, stating last month: “If it went up to anywhere like 40% or even 35% there is no profit in the business.” Done said if that happened, he’d have to close all his 1,287 UK Betfred shops.

Many pro tax hike campaigners will no doubt think Reeves was right to hit online firms hard after a pair of reports this week revealed the industry had made an extra £1bn ($1.1bn) from bettors over the previous fiscal year, and that the companies had spent £2bn ($2.3bn) on advertising and marketing in 2024.

While the 15% freeze and the online sports betting hike to 25% might be workable for Betfred, the 40% raise for online casino companies comes as the Treasury admitted the increase meant UK bettors will “likely switch to the illegal market.”

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