Gambling Tax Increases Won’t Affect Horse Racing

by James Gibson, 4 November 2025

The Autumn Budget will apparently spare horse racing and increase taxes for other types of gambling.

Horse racing won’t face increases in gambling taxes. © clarencealford, Pixabay

Key Facts:

• The Chancellor is planning tax increases in the gambling sector
• Rachel Reeves is looking to raise approximately £1 billion in revenue from new gambling taxes
• Horse racing is set to be exempt from new tax increases

Rachel Reeves will supposedly spare the horse racing sector from gambling tax increases set to be announced in the Autumn Budget. The Chancellor will increase taxes in other parts of the gambling industry.

At the moment, bets that are placed in person at horse races essentially have no duty imposed on them. Those placed online or at betting shops, on the other hand, are subject to a levy.

Both of these will remain the same for the time being, at least. Those who place bets on horse races shouldn’t notice any changes in the near future.

Gambling Tax Grab

The Chancellor plans to implement a gambling tax worth approximately £1 billion. This will spare the horse racing sector, though it’s not fully known what exactly the tax grab will involve.

The £1 billion figure has been criticised by many in the gambling industry. However, it’s much lower than the £3.2 billion tax grab that was previously planned and backed by former Labour PM Gordon Brown.

Insiders at the Treasury are said to be annoyed by the gambling industry’s focus on how tax rises could affect horse racing. This follows an event last month in which trainers and jockeys visited Westminster.

The reason they went there was to protest against any upcoming tax increases they felt could negatively impact the horse racing industry. This resulted in British horse racing being voluntarily cancelled for the first time in the sport’s history.

A source from Whitehall commented on the protest, saying:

This is not about targeting horse racing, football and the like. It is not the stuff most people have a flutter on casually. – Whitehall Source, Whitehall Comments on Horse Racing Tax Rise Protests, The Telegraph

Concerns About the Effect on Horse Racing

Although horse racing may not be directly targeted, there are concerns that it could be indirectly affected by increases in taxation. This could result in profits from horse racing falling.

A source in the industry has commented on this, saying:

The Treasury doesn’t get it. You don’t protect horse racing by taking £1bn from the gambling sector, you do the complete opposite. – Gambling Industry Insider, Whitehall comments on horse racing tax rise protests, The Telegraph

They also referred to the so-called ‘pleasure police’ who dislike gambling and mentioned that the government seems to be siding with them. They also believe tax rises will result in thousands of job losses.

Someone else who doesn’t think tax rises will positively affect horse racing is jockey Kieran Shoemark. He’s said that the industry is already under pressure and that tax rises will make it harder for horse racing to survive.

Others in Favour of Tax Rises

Not everyone is opposed to increasing gambling taxes. Stewart Kenny, who is the now retired co-founder of Paddy Power, believes the areas of gambling that cause the most harm should be taxed more.

This would discourage operators from persuading people to switch from sportsbooks to casinos. If people focus more on sports betting and less on the more harmful casino games, it will ultimately benefit them.

Potential Details About the Gambling Tax Increases

When it comes to taxes on gambling, duties are currently set at different rates. There are two areas in particular—Machine Games Duty and Remote Gaming Duty—that gambling tax increases may focus on.

Machine Games Duty, which is set at 20%, affects people who use betting machines in bookies. As for Remote Gaming Duty, which targets people using online casinos, this is fixed at 21%.

These are both expected to increase, though it’s not sure how much they’ll go up by. Some have suggested that for £1 billion in tax revenue to be generated, the Remote Gaming Duty would have to increase to 40%.

Insiders at the Treasury believe that increasing gambling taxes is justified due to public finances and the fact that remote betting has increased by 60% over the last decade.

Another justification is that increasing taxes on gambling should go down well politically. Whatever happens on 26 November, it’s clear that the gambling industry as a whole will face major changes.