- Remote Gaming Duty, which taxes online casino, slots and bingo, rose from 21% to 40% from April 2026.
- A new 25% General Betting Duty rate for remote betting starts on 1 April 2027, up from 15%.
- Remote bets on UK horse racing stay at 15%, as does in-person betting.
- Bingo Duty on in-person bingo was abolished from 1 April 2026.
The UK's Remote Gaming Duty, the tax on online casino games, slots and bingo, increased from 21% to 40% of operators' gaming profits from April 2026. The change was announced in the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025, together with a new 25% rate of General Betting Duty for remote betting from 1 April 2027. Remote bets on UK horse racing were kept at 15%, and in-person betting duty did not change.
The rates below are taken from HM Treasury and HMRC's government response on the tax treatment of remote gambling, published with the Budget.
Rates before and after the Budget
| Duty | What it covers | Previous rate | New rate | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Gaming Duty | Online casino, slots and bingo | 21% | 40% | April 2026 |
| General Betting Duty, remote | Online and phone betting (except UK horse racing) | 15% | 25% | 1 April 2027 |
| General Betting Duty, remote UK horse racing | Online bets on UK horse racing | 15% | 15% | Unchanged |
| General Betting Duty, in person | Betting shops and racecourses | 15% | 15% | Unchanged |
| Pool Betting Duty | Pool bets | unchanged | unchanged | No change |
| Spread betting (financial) | Financial spread bets | 3% | 3% | Unchanged |
| Spread betting (other) | Sports and other spread bets | 10% | 10% | Unchanged |
| Bingo Duty | In-person bingo | 10% | abolished | 1 April 2026 |
The Treasury's wording
Because rate tables are often repeated without sources, here are the key phrases from the government response. On online casino: "Increase the Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) rate from 21% to 40% from April 2026". On online betting: "a new 25% rate for remote betting from 1 April 2027". On racing: "Remote UK horseracing bets will not be subject to the new rate and will remain taxed at 15%". On bingo: "we will abolish bingo duty from 1 April 2026". Pool betting is unaffected, and financial spread betting remains at 3%.
What the rates apply to
Remote Gaming Duty and General Betting Duty are charged on operators' profits from gambling, broadly stakes minus winnings, rather than on the amount staked. To give a sense of the base, the Gambling Commission reported £5.7 billion of remote casino gross gambling yield and £2.4 billion of remote betting yield in Great Britain for April 2025 to March 2026. Those figures are the regulator's yield measure, not HMRC's taxable profits, which differ in detail; they are a guide to scale, not a tax estimate. The full series is on our Great Britain gambling statistics page.
How 40% compares
A 40% rate on gaming profits puts the UK among the higher-taxed regulated online casino markets. In Europe, the Netherlands taxes online gambling at 37.8% of gross gaming revenue from 2026 and Denmark at 28% for online casino; in the United States, Pennsylvania taxes online slots at 54%, and Rhode Island and Delaware keep even larger shares of slot revenue under their lottery-run models. Rates are set on different bases, so compare them with care. Our European tax rates table and US state tax rates table give the detail.
Other 2025 and 2026 changes
The duty changes came alongside player-protection rules from the Gambling Commission: online slots stake limits from 9 April 2025 (£5 for adults aged 25 and over) and 21 May 2025 (£2 for those aged 18 to 24), and a 10 times cap on bonus wagering requirements from 19 January 2026.
Questions about UK gambling duty
What is the UK Remote Gaming Duty rate in 2026?
40% of remote gaming profits from April 2026, up from 21%. It applies to online casino games, slots and bingo.
Is online sports betting tax going up in the UK?
Yes. A new 25% remote betting rate of General Betting Duty applies from 1 April 2027, up from 15%. Remote bets on UK horse racing stay at 15%.
Did betting shop duty change?
No. In-person betting remains taxed at 15%, and in-person Bingo Duty was abolished from 1 April 2026.
Sources
- HM Treasury and HMRC: The Tax Treatment of Remote Gambling, government response (November 2025)
- CMS: Autumn Budget 2025 gambling duties (27 November 2025; secondary)
- Deloitte: Autumn Budget 2025, gambling duties (secondary)
- Gambling Commission: Industry Statistics, April 2025 to March 2026
- Gambling Commission: gambling promotions to be safer and simpler
