Are Higher UK Gambling Taxes on the Way?

Online gambling continues to enjoy great success in the UK, with numerous new casinos coming up. The recent set of financial results were highly encouraging for the industry but with stricter regulation, a mandatory levy and taxation changes, will the success continue?

Recently the UK Gambling Commission published the financial results for January to March 2025. The total online Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) was an impressive £1.45 billion. That figure was 7% higher than achieved in the same period last year.

There was also an increase in the number of bets/spins. The total of 25.2 billion was 5% higher than seen last year between January and March. An important section of any online gambling site is its slots portfolio. The slots GGY for this period was £689 million and that was an increase of 11% year-on-year. 

23.4 billion spins were made with the average session length being 17 minutes. 6% of sessions lasted over an hour. However, will this continue to rise in the future? There has recently been action taken by the government regarding online slot games.

While online slots can be highly entertaining, they are also considered to be addictive and many gamblers report harm caused by them. As a result, the decision was taken to reduce the maximum stake for online slot games. There was no maximum stake previously in place and players could swiftly make large losses in an average 17 minute session.

The new maximum stakes are £5 for players aged 25 and over. There was more desire to protect younger players so the maximum stake for those aged between 18 and 24 is only £2. There are still calls for the speed of online slots to be reduced.

Will this affect the UK’s gambling companies? A similar move against the machines seen in High Street bookmakers did result in some closures and redundancies. One fear is that the new maximum stake limits may cause disgruntled players to instead gamble with the unlicensed and unregulated gambling sites.

When this happens, it does not just affect the finances of the licensed sites who are losing custom. The treasury does not receive any gambling taxes from the unlicensed sites and they also have lower levels of customer protection.

The new maximum stake limits for slots is not the only problem that the UK gambling industry is facing. There have long been calls for stricter regulation of the industry, particularly for the online sector.

Stricter affordability checks have been introduced, another move that can lead to players heading to the unlicensed market. There is also due to be a mandatory levy imposed on UK gambling companies.

This will look at aiming to raise £100 million with funds being used to help those suffering gambling harm and research into the subject. Another concern that is now hitting the industry is the fear of higher rates of taxation having to be paid.

Currently a three-rate system is in place for the gambling industry. However, there has been an announcement of a new Remote Betting & Gaming Duty (RBGD) and this has the industry worried.

A 12-week consultation period is being held and this will allow the industry to put their views across. The closing date for this is July 21 and a policy announcement is expected in the autumn budget.

While it’s been claimed that the idea of the new tax is to simplify the system and reduce administrative costs, there is a fear it will lead to higher rates being charged. This includes a concern that the current remote gambling tax rate will be increased from 15 to 21%.

Grianne Hurst is the CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council and she has been speaking on the subject. Criticism of the planned changes include it making a “mockery” of the Labour government’s ambition of creating growth in the economy. Hurst also stated that a tax rise would be a “self-defeating” move for the Labour government to introduce.

There is also concern that such an increase would cause more damage to the gambling industry. The CEO said that gambling reforms already introduced have cost the sector more than £1 billion in lost revenue. Her view is that a tax increase would “not raise more money for the treasury.”

Hurst added that gambling reforms have already cost the sector over £1 billion in lost revenue. Tax increases would “not raise more money for the treasury.”

Stella David is the CEO of Entain and the gambling company believes any changes won’t come into force until 2028. “A long journey” is going to be taken by the industry and the CEO said: “a lot can happen between now and then.”