Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget ensured that the long-held gambling tax fears of the UK betting industry have come to fruition, as the regulated sector faces an uncertain future.
While the consequences of such a change are yet to be seen, Reeves’ decision has cemented the UK as one of the toughest economic environments in Europe for gambling in terms of tax rates.
The changes are headlined by an almost doubling in remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% in April 2026, aligning with voices such as the former PM Gordon Brown, who argued that the UK’s tax rate on online gaming fell short of comparative markets in Europe and elsewhere.
General betting duty will also rise to 25% in April 2027, excluding self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets and horse racing.
But where does this leave the UK, and where does it now rank among other jurisdictions worldwide?
Europe: teetering on tipping point
The UK has now leapfrogged the much-maligned Dutch market, where licensed remote gambling operators are taxed 34.2% on gross gaming revenue, following a January 2025 change.
This rate is set to rise further to 37.8% at the beginning of 2026.
UK operators repeatedly urged the government to take note of the consequences of such a high taxation rate in the Netherlands during the lead-up to the budget. Stakeholders pointed out that the Dutch authorities are contending with a possible €200m shortfall due to a decrease in engagement with the regulated industry.
The figure now also aligns with Austria’s 40% iGaming tax rate, another country cited by think tanks advocating for change.
Italy, Europe’s second-largest online gambling market behind the UK, levies a 25.5% tax rate on online casino, bingo and poker, with sports betting sitting at 24.5%. Land-based tax rates also vary between 20.5% and 24.5% depending on the vertical.
Markets such as Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden and Spain carry an online gambling tax rate of between 20% and 30%, sitting either side of the 25% figure that has been widely cited as the tipping point for effective taxation.
A recently published Betting and Gaming Council study found that countries with a GGR tax of less than 25% experienced 13% growth annually in tax take from 2019, compared to 9% when tax was over 25%.
Stephen Hodgson, tax expert from the Betting and Gaming Council, told iGaming Expert: “Gambling tax rates at 25% and higher are generally correlated with less successful markets and greater black market activity. Those sorts of rates put pressure on operators to reduce returns to customers, be less generous with bonuses and promotions, and reduce marketing activity.
He added: “There is clearly a tipping point at which the regulated market shrinks, tax revenues fall, and consumers suffer. That’s a lose-lose-lose situation. That’s the danger that policymakers need to be aware of and seek to avoid.”
French outlier
A notable outlier is France, which remains above the UK. Like the UK, tax rises have become a political background for the volatile French government.
In spite of much campaigning, online casino remains prohibited, however, sports betting tax rates sit at an eye-watering 59.3%.
Advocates for the regulation of online casino harbour fears of a similarly prohibitive rate for the vertical, emphasising that only a thriving regulated sector will thwart a black market that is plaguing the country.
According to a recent report from the AFJEL, 5.4 million French players are now active on unlicensed gambling sites, surpassing the 3.5 million users in the legal market and representing a 35% surge in two years. PwC estimates that the illegal market generated €2 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2025, causing fiscal losses of more than €1.2 billion annually.
“These illicit platforms lure customers with outsized inducements, flood Facebook and Google with ads, and even manipulate search engines to make themselves look legitimate,” said Nicolas Béraud, CEO of Betclic Group and President of AFJEL.
“The magnitude of this problem proves that prohibition is not protection. The only solution is a regulated and controlled iCasino offer that restores trust, protects players, and ensures fair competition.”
Across the Atlantic
While top of the tax pile in Europe, the UK’s remote gaming duty rate remains below the rates levied on operators in many of the US states that have legalised iGaming.
In Rhode Island, tax sits at a crippling 61% for online slots and 15% on table games.
Delaware levies a 57% on video lottery games, with a 20% tax on online table games and poker, while rates in Pennsylvania sit at 54% for online slots and a 16% tax on online table games and poker.
On the other hand, Michigan has chosen a graduated tax rate from 20% to 28% based on annual revenue from iGaming, while online sports betting operators pay a flat stake rate of 8.4%.
West Virginia, New Jersey and Connecticut levy tax rates of 15%, 17.5% and 18% respectively, on iGaming.
Ontario, currently Canada’s only iGaming state, taxes GGR at a rate of 20% for licensed operators.
The choice of lawmakers in the US to differentiate online slots tallies with campaigners’ calls for differentiated tax rates to recognise the differences in harm between gambling types.
Treasury Select Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said following the announcement: “The gambling sector’s scaremongering has failed. The Chancellor has made the right decision in agreeing with my committee that the tax rate for remote betting, including highly addictive casino games, should reflect the harm it inflicts.
Debates looming in LatAm
Looking towards South America, discourse and conjecture around tax rates have been a prevalent narrative in the highly anticipated Brazilian market since its opening.
A vote is expected imminently on the prospects of hiking taxes, however, it has so far been hit by a myriad of delays.
Many voices have lobbied for tax on fixed-odds betting to spike from 12% to 24%. This sits alongside government proposals to elevate GGR tax from 12% to 18%.
Whilst pushback has been valiant, citing the key challenges around transitioning the country’s significant grey market to regulated operators, political pressure continues to escalate in a market that remains in its infancy.
Colombia has also felt the full effects of major swings to its tax regime in recent times.
Alongside a tax rate of 15%-17% on GGR, the country’s Ministry of Finance attempted to boost revenues by implementing a 19% value-added tax on all online gambling deposits
Although initially only meant to last until 31 December, proposals suggest it could be a permanent edition, leading to operators and players voting with their feet.
Earlier this month, Codere confirmed that it will no longer be investing in the Colombian market unless the government rethinks its tax policy, describing it as counterproductive.
Operators across the nation have also reported a decline in real operating income, and Colombia’s gaming regulator, Coljuegos, noted an almost 50% decline in tax contributions in July.
Although a different type of tax, Colombia’s decisions may act as a key warning for Reeves as she embarks on a new tax journey for the UK industry.
