Chancellor Rachel Reeves has used her Autumn Budget to launch a significant overhaul of the UK's gambling tax system, a move set to generate an estimated £1.1bn for the Treasury by the 2029-30 financial year.
The reforms, which were initially disclosed in a leak from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), specifically target the remote gaming and online betting sectors with substantial duty increases.
Breaking Down the New Tax Rates
In her announcement on Wednesday 26 November 2025, the Chancellor confirmed the key changes. The tax rate on remote gaming will surge from 21 per cent to 40 per cent. Simultaneously, the duty on online betting will rise from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
Furthermore, a new general betting duty for remote betting will be set at 25 per cent from April 2027. In a relief for some sectors, bingo duty will be abolished entirely. For land-based casinos, the duty bands will be frozen for the 2026-27 period before resuming their usual link to the Retail Price Index (RPI).
The government has justified these measures as a way to ensure gambling operators pay their "fair share" and to address growing social concerns linked to high-risk online gambling formats.
Industry Warnings and Social Policy Appraisal
The announcement has been met with strong criticism from industry trade bodies. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) had previously cautioned that such proposals "risk costing thousands of jobs" and could push customers towards unregulated, unsafe black markets.
The BGC also highlighted the sector's substantial economic contribution, stating it supports £6.8bn for the UK economy. Similarly, the trade association Bacta warned that even modest tax increases could force the closure of hundreds of community-based venues like seaside arcades.
The OBR itself has tempered expectations, warning that behavioural responses from operators—such as raising prices for customers or reducing payouts—could reduce the expected tax yield by around a third.
Conversely, advocates for stricter gambling regulation have welcomed the changes. They argue that harmonising and increasing duties on the most addictive forms of gambling is a positive step. They believe it will help fund social programmes, offset the harms caused by problem gambling, and generate significant public revenue.
The High-Stakes Outcome
The ultimate success of this fiscal policy now hangs in the balance. The Chancellor is attempting to walk a tightrope: raising substantial revenue from the gambling industry while trying to protect the regulated sector that supports thousands of jobs across the country.
The key question is whether the legal market can remain robust and competitive under the weight of these new duties, or if, as feared, a significant number of punters will be driven towards illicit offshore operators, a trend observed in other European markets.
