HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will no longer apply a 10% tax on gross profits generated by land-based bingo venues in the UK.
The measure has been introduced as part of the Budget announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves back in November 2025. The specific measures come into play as of today (1 April 2026).
HMRC has explained that bingo operators will no longer need to file returns on profits generated from land-based play, with it updating specific guidance in due course to reflect the new changes.
A statement read: “Bingo Duty operators currently registered with HMRC will continue to be able to submit any outstanding returns online until April 2030 and notify HMRC of any over or under declarations from previous accounting periods.”
The change will soften the blow for bingo hall operators, as HMRC enacts the increase in remote gaming duties (RGD) from 21% to 40% from today onwards – which will impact wagering on online bingo.
HMRC reiterated: “Bingo Duty does not apply to non-profit making bingo, domestic bingo, or machines subject to Machine Games Duty.”
After the budget was announced in November, Rank Group Plc, the operator of Mecca Bingo, welcomed the decision not to apply the 10% tax to land-based bingo halls.
It stated that the change would help support jobs and investment in the land-based sector, having previously warned that failure to reform bingo taxation could lead to venue closures.
However, the wider industry response has been more cautious. Buzz Bingo CEO Dominic Mansour described the abolition as a “full house win” for local clubs, but warned that its impact is being diluted by the near-doubling of RGD.
Before the Budget, Mansour stressed that fairer tax treatment was essential to protecting around 2,500 jobs and sustaining the company’s network of 79 venues across the UK.
Friction remains over broader regulatory developments, with the government indicating that further assurances are needed from the sector on player protection, particularly in higher-stake environments.
Yet frustrations remain on whether the Labour government will implement the changes to the current 80/20 rule, which places a limited ratio on category B and C/D gaming machines on high street bingos and Adult Gaming Centres (ADCs)
This April, DCMS announced that it had intervened and frozen the changes to the proposed 50/50 machine ratio.
Due to local council pressures on high street gaming, DCMS noted that changes to gaming machine ratios would not be implemented in the current legislative cycle. DCMS will, instead, prioritise White Paper commitments such as the statutory levy and online stake limits on UK gambling licences.
Land-based gambling trade bodies, including BACTA as well as major operators, have expressed frustration at the pace of reform, arguing that delays are restricting bingo halls from generating revenues needed to modernise and recover from pandemic disruption and rising operating costs. The Treasury had previously backed direct reforms on gambling venues as a package of measures to temper raising costs on high street businesses.
While the abolition of Bingo Duty represents a long-awaited concession, its overall impact is tempered by the broader tightening of gambling taxation, leaving operators to navigate a more challenging environment under the UK’s new 40% RGD era.
