UK budget: no gambling tax hike for now

Think tanks had proposed steep hikes in gambling tax.

UK.- The UK government has held off from proposals to hike gambling tax in the autumn budget. High-profile reports from two think tanks had left the gambling fearing that it would be used to make up for a hole in finances, but chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that there will be no changes in gambling tax this time around.

In her budget presentation yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, Reeves laid into the record of her predecessor, the Conservatives’ Jeremy Hunt along with the former prime minister Rishi Sunak for hiding the true state of finances, noting that the Treasury needed an additional £40bn in taxes to shore up the economy and improve public services.

Gambling tax will remain at a tiered rate of 15 to 50 per cent for land-based gaming venues. The Gross Gaming Yield bands for land-based venues will be frozen from April 1 2025 until March 31 2026. For remote gambling, the tax rate will remain at 21 per cent. The government plans to open a consultation next year on proposals to unify the tax structure for online, telephone, TV and radio to simplify the system and close loopholes.

Sectors that did get hit with new taxes include the sale of vapes and sugary drinks. Meanwhile, flights by private jet will be subject to a 50 per cent tax rate.

Meanwhile, the threshold for employer national insurance contributions will be lowered to £5,000 and there will be rises in capital gains tax. The tax on alcohol will remain flat, although the rate on draft beer will be cut by 1 per cent. VAT will be charged on private school fees from January 2025.

The industry lobby group the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) welcomed the budget. CEO Grainne Hurst said: “We welcome today’s budget and its commitment to not increase gambling duties on the regulated betting and gaming sector.

“We have been clear, any duty rises now would have hit customers, prevented growth, risked jobs and bolstered the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market. The Government has listened to the BGC and our members, got the balance right, and rejected calls from anti-gambling prohibitionists seeking to threaten jobs and growth.”