Online Gambling to Be Hit with Higher Taxes

by James Gibson, 27 January 2026

Higher taxes on online gambling activities have been confirmed by the UK Government.

Online Gambling Taxes in the UK to Rise. © Christopher Bill, Unsplash

Key Facts:

• Changes to online gambling taxes were announced in the Autumn budget 2025
• It’s now been confirmed that there’ll be an increase in online gambling taxes
• The increase in taxes is expected to generate around £1 billion per year

Online gambling taxes are going to increase, as previously outlined in the Autumn Budget 2025. The plans to increase the tax rates for online gambling operators have been formally confirmed by the UK Government.

Ministers have said that the rise in taxes will have two key benefits: preventing traditional forms of gambling from facing tax increases and reducing the harms caused by online gambling. Interestingly, the changes won’t affect all types of gambling.

They will focus on casino games and sports betting, which are known to have higher risks of both harms and addiction. Other forms of gambling, such as bingo and horse racing, won’t face tax increases.

Specific Details About the Tax Rises

Duty for online casinos is expected to increase from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026. As for sports betting, the duty will increase from 15% to 25%. This will take place on 1 April 2027.

Though horse racing is often classed as a type of sports betting, it’s exempt from the change in duty. This is because the Treasury Committee suggests that taxes should be in line with the harm a form of gambling causes.

Horse racing isn’t seen as particularly harmful. Land-based casinos and other gambling venues won’t experience any duty changes for this reason. What may come as a surprise is that bingo halls won’t face any duty charges from April 2026 onwards.

The Treasury Committee first recommended different duty rates for different types of gambling in a report released on 7 November 2025. Its main argument was that online gambling had gained a significant market share.

Specific Details About the Tax Rises

Grainne Hurst, the Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, affirmed that gambling doesn’t create any social harms. MPs strongly criticised this claim, and the Treasury Committee rejected the evidence supporting it.

The UK Government supports the Treasury Committee’s position over the gambling industry. Indeed, the claim that gambling isn’t linked to social harms was questioned by Dame Meg Hillier, the Chair of the Treasury Committee.

She has said the following about the situation:

I find it staggering that the industry can make the boldfaced claim that its activities do not cause harm– Dame Meg Hillier, Treasury Committee Chair Rejects Gambling Industry Claims, World Casino Directory

She also talked about how the addictive nature of gambling was encouraging people to spend significant sums of money on gambling. She also implied that gambling sites were taking advantage of vulnerable people.

For quite some time now, she’s emphasised that some types of gambling can benefit the general public. They can make positive contributions to the economy and even improve local cultures to a degree.

Online gambling, she believes, comes with many risks that shouldn’t be ignored. She’s likened the Chancellor’s decision to increase online gambling taxes to common sense. She’s in favour of the more addictive forms of gambling facing higher taxation.

Benefits of the Tax Increases

The tax increases are part of the Treasury’s ongoing efforts to create a tax system that’s both fair and sustainable. It’s expected that at least £1 billion will be raised each year from the upcoming tax changes.

This is despite higher tax rates for online gambling not always producing more revenue. In the Netherlands, for example, a rise in tax rates actually led to lower government revenue.

The consensus at the Treasury Committee is that devices such as smartphones and tablets, which make online gambling more accessible, can be more harmful than beneficial to some people.

From 2013/14 to 2023/24, online gambling’s share of the overall gambling market rose from 12% to 44%. This is primarily due to the availability of gambling sites on mobile devices.

It’s been highlighted by MPs that traditional forms of gambling, such as bingo halls, are mostly enjoyed without any serious side effects, unlike online gambling. This is why such types of gambling aren’t being hit with large tax increases.