How will the UK gambling tax rises affect operators?
Major gambling groups have responded to the government’s decision to almost double the tax rate on online casino gaming in what the BGC describes as a “devastating hammer blow” to the industry.
UK.- As reported yesterday, chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget includes steep UK gambling tax rises. Most significantly, the tax rate on British revenue from online casino gaming will rise from 21 to 40 per cent from April 2026.
Meanwhile, general betting duty on online sports wagers will rise from 15 to 25 per cent starting a year later in April 2027. High street betting shops will see no chance to the tax rate on either bets or machines. All horse racing bets will be exempt from the increases, and the 10 per cent tax on bingo will be scrapped.
Major operators have had a day to process the numbers and form their responses to the announcement, and many are looking for the positive despite grave predictions before the tax rise was confirmed. Some have confirmed plans for cost-saving measures while some express concern that the tax rise will benefit unlicensed operators. Others consider the government’s decision to be reasonable, and have welcomed the decision to make exemptions for retail betting, horseracing and bingo.
The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents the biggest gambling operators in Britain, was quick to criticised the tax hikes, with CEO Grainne Hurst describing them as a “devastating hammer blow to tens of thousands of people working in the industry across the UK, and millions of customers who enjoy a bet“.
As for individual operators, Evoke is the group whose share price was most severely affected yesterday, falling by 18 per cent. That’s likely due to its historic focus on online gambling, although it does not also own retail bookmakers following its acquisition of William Hill.
CEO Per Widerström has said that the former 888 Holdings will immediately implement mitigations plans through which it aims to offset around half of the tax rise’s impact in the medium term. This will include retail closures, reduced marketing, supplier savings, general operating cost savings and possible changes to its offerings. Evoke had already announced plans to withdraw William Hill from 13 markets.
However, Widerström said the group’s UK operations will also see heavy cuts. “This will involve a significant reduction in investment into the UK and, very regrettably, the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country,“ he said.
The group had warned in October that it may close up to 200 William Hill betting shops in the UK.
Meanwhile, Entain, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, said it expects to mitigate around 25 per cent of the impact of the gambling tax hike by cost-saving actions like reducing marketing and promotions. It expects an EBITDA impact of around £100m in 2026 and £150m from 2027.
However, CEO Stella David also signalled a potential benefit for the operator, suggesting that Entain may gain more players if smaller operators are forced to fold because of the tax rises.
Flutter, whose brands include Paddy Power, also tried to see a positive side. UK and Ireland CEO Kevin Harrington direct mitigation efforts would initially cover around 20 per cent of the impact of the gambling tax rise, rising to 40 per cent. These will again include reduced promotional and marketing spend. The group expects a net impact on adjusted EBITDA of around $235m in 2026 and $339m in 2027.
“I am confident that through both our scale and leading position in the UK, as well as the proactive cost initiatives that we are taking, we are well placed to navigate through the changes,” Harrington said.
Rank Group was one of the operators that came off best from the changes to gambling tax due to its significant focus on land-based gaming via Grosvenor Casino and on bingo via the Mecca brand. It still expects a hit of £46m on its digital operations, but the abolition of the tax on bingo revenue will help offset the overall impact.
But Rank noted that the gambling tax rise isn’t the only aspect of the Autumn Budget that will have an impact on its operations. The UK minimum wage is to rise by 4.1 per cent to £12.71 from April 2026. Rank said that this will have a cost impact of around £5.5m.
Super Group, which owns Betway and Spin, was one of the operators to be least critical of the tax rise, perhaps reassured by its growing operations in Africa. CFO Alinda van Wyk forecasts an adjusted EBITDA impact of around 6 per cent for 2026 but said the group already has mitigation plans in effect and that the tax rise wouldn’t ”alter our long-term trajectory nor our capital return priorities.”
CEO Neal Menashe called for the higher gambling tax rates to be accompanied by tough enforcement against unlicensed gambling.
“Super Group supports the reasonable taxation of online gaming in the UK,” he said. “We rely on the government to ensure the very substantial increase should be paired with robust and strict enforcement against non-paying offshore operators. This is essential to protect the regulated sector’s investment in jobs, technology and responsible gaming in the UK.”
As for providers, Playtech estimated a group adjusted EBITDA impact in the “high-teens millions of euros” in 2026 before mitigation. However, it expects its international operations to help reduce that.
“Given the group’s geographic diversity across regulated markets and strong performance and prospects outside of the UK, Playtech remains comfortable that it can meet market expectations for the full year 2026,” it said.
