The UK Treasury is once again reportedly considering raising gambling taxes to help fill gaps in the national budget.
According to The Observer, the measure is being weighed as a key option to boost revenue ahead of what’s expected to be a politically challenging budget announcement.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces the challenge of generating up to £30 billion in funds without increasing income tax, VAT, or employee national insurance – pledges she made before the 2024 General Election. Compared to other potential tax hikes, raising gambling duties is seen as politically more palatable.
This comes amid an ongoing Treasury consultation, launched in April, on merging the three existing betting taxes – currently set between 15% and 21% – into a single unified rate. Most anticipate that the government will opt for the highest rate due to fiscal pressures.
Previously, The Guardian reported that the Treasury had also looked into broader gambling tax increases prior to the last budget in October. One proposal, backed by the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), suggested raising general betting duty from 15% to 30% and remote betting duty to 50%, based on a new harm-based tax model that imposes higher rates on riskier gambling products.
While it remains unclear whether these more aggressive proposals will be adopted, they align with the government’s goal to simplify gambling taxation.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), however, has strongly criticized these ideas. CEO Grainne Hurst told NEXT.io that the current tax speculation is “driven by anti-gambling campaigners” and “not credible.” She warned that additional tax hikes could severely impact the industry, stall growth, put jobs at risk, and harm the horseracing sector.
In response to the proposed remote gambling tax unification, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has launched a campaign titled “Axe the Tax” to oppose the changes.
