The BGC warns of devastating hammer blow to the UK’s online gambling industry following significant budget tax hikes for 2026.
In news that will not surprise many followers of the United Kingdom’s gambling industry, the British Gaming Council has publicly condemned the UK Government’s decision to significantly increase tax rates for online casino and sports betting operators. Within hours of the news that Chancellor Rachel Reeves had nearly doubled casino gaming duties to 40% commencing April 1, 2026, and hiked taxes for sports bets to 25% for the following year, the BGC issued a statement labelling the decision as a ‘devastating hammer blow’.
Delivered by Grainne Hurst, the BGC’s CEO, the statement claims this decision will have a significant impact on the 100,000 people working within the sector, the sector as a whole, and will also lead to more players moving to black market casinos.
UK Gambling Industry Now Amongst World’s Most Taxed
Although put professionally and succinctly, there is no doubt that Hurst’s response to the tax hikes is damning. Her main concerns are the effect they will have on the 100,000 UK people working within the sector, and how they will undermine the position of one of the nation’s most successful digital sectors that was previously viewed by other countries and jurisdictions as a benchmark for effective gambling regulation and consumer protection.
Share prices of major operators have taken massive hits, jobs have been put at risk and many smaller operators face the possibility of going under or having no choice but to leave the UK altogether. Furthermore, while the opposite is the intention of the tax increases, Hurst believes the current £6.8 billion contribution the industry makes to the UK economy is likely to decrease as well.
Source: You can view the original statement issued by Grainne Hurst on the BGC website’s news page here.
Land-Based Sector Spared – But Online Faces the Pressure
One positive of the Autumn Budget that was welcomed by the BGC was its support of the land-based industry, or more specifically, the high street venues that are already facing uncertain times due to the rise of online alternatives and still recovering from the pandemic. Duties were frozen for bookmakers and casinos, while bingo operators were made exempt from paying duty at all.
However, the relief for land-based gambling is outweighed, the BGC argues, by the excessive tax hikes placed on online operations. Hurst warned that these changes could lead to:
- Slowed investment in British technology and digital operations
- Reduced marketing spend, impacting sports sponsorships
- Job losses across tech, compliance, customer support and media
- A weakened ability to compete internationally
The clear message from the BGC was that the Budget is a major backwards step for a sector that is globally seen as a model for gambling regulation and has contributed billions to UK sport and the economy.
Concerns Over Black Market Growth
Another major highlight of Hurst’s response is the topic is the risk of pushing more players into the black market, something we’ve discussed at Casinoplusbonus in various posts, including how offshore gambling sites are winning against regulated markets.
These sites, which do not have to pay these extortionate taxes, are hoovering up UK players who were already fed up with the over-regulation of the UK gambling industry, and now will have less value at regulated casinos due to reduced bonuses as a result of these tax hikes being passed over to them.
Casinoplusbonus Opinion
We have never been shy of sharing our concerns within the UK gambling industry, and in our opinion, the outlook has never looked more bleak. Over-regulation was already pushing players into offshore platforms and operators out of the market long before this announcement. Now the industry is about to endure the aftermath of tax hikes we have been ardently against ever since they were rumoured, and we think it’s going to be disastrous for all parties.
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