Taxation of gambling in the UK

POSSIBLE FORTHCOMING CHANGE: between 23 April and 21 July 2025, the government consulted on the introduction of a single duty for remote gambling in the UK to be called Remote Betting & Gaming Duty (RBGD). Since 2014, UK-based remote gambling has been subject to General Betting Duty (GBD), Pool Betting Duty (PBD) or Remote Gaming Duty (RGD). These duties cover bookmakers’ gross profits from different activities and are set at different rates. The government considers that these differences do not have sufficient justification in the context of remote gambling and lead to unnecessary complexity. The government’s proposal therefore is to replace GBD, PBD and RGD with the proposed new RBGD. The consultation sought views on the shape, scope, coverage, administration and enforcement of RBGD.

The government is currently analysing feedback to the consultation. Subject to responses and other matters, such as the need for HMRC to make any necessary IT system changes, the government would look to bring RBGD into effect from October 2027.

Gambling duties

Different forms of gambling are subject to different duties under English law. There are essentially

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