OBR 'Gambling Duty Reform' - UK Budget

[newcustomeroffer]

From the leaked OBR report ahead of today's budget:

3.39 Several changes to gambling duties have been announced in the Budget which overall are estimated to raise £1.1 billion by 2029-30. From April 2026 there will be an increase in remote gaming duty from 21 to 40 per cent and abolition of bingo duty from its current 10 per cent rate. From April 2027, a new rate of general betting duty for remote betting will be introduced at 25 per cent, excluding self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets,and horseracing. The Government has also announced a freeze in casino gaming duty bands in 2026-27 with the usual RPI uprating thereafter.

Full OBR report: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_...ember_2025.pdf

[xecutable]

Does that mean remote betting tax on the operators, that will be later on passed onto the affiliates because why not?

[The Buzz]

Here's a great recap with key points from today's budget statement:

https://globalgaminginsider.com/anal...u-need-to-know

[Mattbar]

Does that mean remote betting tax on the operators, that will be later on passed onto the affiliates because why not?

Yeah it's all getting passed on to us don't worry about that

[newcustomeroffer]

Yeah it's all getting passed on to us don't worry about that

And we may well find it makes some programs untenable to UK audiences, or at least quotas may be raised/affiliates cut off to save some money.

[wonderpunter]

How else woudl they be able to create a communist state? 5 years time the UK will look like something from 80s Soviet times

[Mattbar]

And we may well find it makes some programs untenable to UK audiences, or at least quotas may be raised/affiliates cut off to save some money.

We already saw this the last time when they raised it to 21%, I think we lost around two dozen brands in the space of a year who left the UK, closed their aff program or introduced predatory quotas. I expect this to happen again and there will be barely anything left to promote

[newcustomeroffer]

This is a very good summary of the impact of this decision written by Chris Fawcett on X: https://x.com/chrisgambler247/status...31765401629080

[tufty]

How else woudl they be able to create a communist state? 5 years time the UK will look like something from 80s Soviet times

Hopefully in 5yrs time we'll be 1.5 years into a Reform government. The deliberate destruction done to the UK in the next 3.5 years by these communist globalists might be hard to reverse. In common with the rest of the EU (bar Italy), they want all wealth and property in state or state-sanctioned hands. If Reform can't turn the tide, then there is potential for the UK to be culturally and religiously changed forever. We are not far from the point of no return in the UK. At this stage, I wouldn't rely on anyone to stem the rot. I wouldn't put it past these far left scumbags to prevent elections or, like France, try to jail their legitimate political opponents. The dire threat to the democratic process can't be understated. The far left has always been authoritarian. The best policy for those with the wherewithal is to abandon the sinking ship before they lock you in financially, which they very nearly did at this budget - I'll be amazed if it doesn't happen during this parliament.

[newcustomeroffer]

Some affiliate comments on this collated by iGB: https://www.igbaffiliate.com/en/arti...ffiliates-say/

Perhaps I'm putting 2+2 together and getting 5, but deposits and betting activity in general seem a little subdued since the budget when I look at my numbers.

Maybe it's a temporary thing or nothing at all, but I wonder if there's a knock-on effect here where UK taxpayers are going to feel like they're giving even more money to the government when they place a bet, even if they don't understand the mechanics of it. All they'll hear is 'tax on gambling' - indeed I saw a post over the weekend of a winning accumulator bet with some of the comments suggesting it should be taken down so that they can 'avoid paying tax on the winnings'. Whether tongue-in-cheek or not, it shows there's scope for apathy here driven by misunderstanding about what's actually happening, which in turn could reduce betting activity - and therefore also tax receipts to the HMRC.

[Mattbar]

Perhaps I'm putting 2+2 together and getting 5, but deposits and betting activity in general seem a little subdued since the budget when I look at my numbers.

It's just looking like a typical lead up to Christmas so far, subdued as people have things they actually need to spend their money on

[TheFisherman]

The reason you see a drop in deposits and activity is due to even more increased safe gaming measures on players. When you make 3 or more deposits in a short period of time (even 3x tenners) you're already flagged and hounded by safe gambling messages asking if you're okay, have a gambling problem or want to limit your account even more. Then you need to provide more docs.
Additionally, when these actions happen, the UKGC wants operators to block marketing and bonuses for players, so that you don't entice them to make more deposits. So naturally if you can't send out emails or messages to players with bonus offers, a lot of them will drop their activity. If they're not included anymore in bonus promos even without marketing, they won't stick around cause they'll feel unappreciated.
Bottom line is the UKGC is the worst thing ever invented, and the main issue is that the rest of the world sees them as the "blueprint" for their own regulation policies.

[newcustomeroffer]

It's just looking like a typical lead up to Christmas so far, subdued as people have things they actually need to spend their money on

Fair comment, finances are likely to be squeezed for many this year so perhaps that's the bulk of the reason.