How Recent Tax Decisions May Affect the UK’s Gambling Industry

There was plenty of speculation about what was going to be announced in last Autumn’s Budget. When the statement was finally read out by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, it contained good news for some but not all.

Epsom racecourse has been holding major horse races since the late 19th century. There were major concerns before the Autumn Budget that there would be a rise in the tax rates that the industry pays to the Treasury.

A feared increase from 15% to 21% could have seen £330 million lost in the five years following such a rise. That could have led to thousands of redundancies. Protests against a tax rise were held at Westminster by the British Horseracing Authority. September 21 even saw the industry go on strike, though no card was due to be held at Epsom on that day.

A huge sigh of relief occurred when no tax increases for the horseracing industry were announced in the Budget. However, as you will read in this article, it wasn’t entirely good news for the industry and there could be some future problems for Epsom racecourse.

Many of you who are reading this article may well love paying a trip to the many bingo halls in Surrey. They were given some good news in the Autumn Budget when the Chancellor announced bingo tax duty would be abolished from 1 April 2026.

That was news which was welcomed by Miles Baron, chief executive of the Bingo Association. He believes that bingo tax duty being abolished will allow the industry to “accelerate the process” of reinventing itself after the problems caused by COVID. He believes new bingo clubs will be opened as more investment is introduced to the market.

It wasn’t all good news though as the Chancellor was keen to raise plenty of additional tax revenue. It was the online gambling sector that wasn’t at all pleased with the contents of the Autumn Budget.

There have long been fears about the harm that gambling can cause its players, especially those who play online on the best horse betting platforms available in the UK. 2025 had already seen stricter regulation introduced with maximum stakes introduced for online slot games. A mandatory levy had also been created with £100 million a year hoping to be received. Funds would go towards the treatment of and research into gambling harm.

Speculation was rife about increased tax rates being on the way. That had been the case in 2024 but no increases were announced. It was a different story in 2025 though with the news that remote gaming duty will rise from 21% to 40% in April 2026. Even worse news saw an announcement that sports betting duty would be increased from 15% to 25% in 2027.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) described the changes as “the largest tax hikes on any industry in modern times.” They believe the higher tax rates will “fundamentally reshape the market, and not for the better.”

Already there are fears that the additional tax payments required will cause companies to make cuts. This could see the offers made to customers be reduced. An additional problem for the online gambling industry is new rules that are being introduced regarding bonuses and offers. Wagering requirements will be capped to 10x the bonus.

GG.BET have already announced their departure from the UK market. Other companies with overseas interests may decide to put more focus on those considering the problems the UK market is facing. Land-based gambling shops may face redundancies or closure.

There is a growing concern over the growth of the unregulated gambling market in the UK. If the services offered by regulated online sites are reduced, then players may decide to leave the market.

That’s further bad news for the regulated industry with more revenue being lost. As for players, they do not receive anywhere near the same level of customer protection on the unregulated market. It’s bad news for the Treasury too as they do not receive any tax payments from unregulated sites.

Back to horse racing and the problems being faced by the gambling industry is not good news. The BGC says that the horseracing industry “will still feel the consequences” of the Autumn Budget.

That could be bad news for Epsom and the all-important Derby Festival held each June. The Derby is sponsored by gambling company Betfred but could the company decide to cut back on such sponsorships? It’s not just the Derby that Betfred sponsors at Epsom with many other races also being sponsored by the company. Betting shops being closed would also affect the horseracing industry.due to the link between the two industries.

You can see therefore that the Autumn Budget certainly contained both good and bad news for the gambling industry. Bingo hall owners may have a big smile on their faces and the massive fears the horseracing industry had haven’t quite come to fruition. As for the online gambling industry, it’s a different situation indeed.