Remote Gaming Duty Will Reach 40% Based on the Leaked OBR Document : PMPMedia.io

By Arijit Roul - 28 Nov, 2025 More about the author

The Office for Budget Responsibility published a statement too early. This document shows Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to increase remote gaming duty to 40%. The new rate starts in April 2026. Stock prices for gambling companies fell before the UK’s 2026 Budget announcement. Tax reforms turned out worse than traders predicted. The OBR wrote this information in a document they released by mistake. NEXT.io discovered that the actual tax rate exceeds expectations. These modifications should generate £1.1bn in fresh revenue by 2029. NEXT.io learned that most money helps fix the government’s multibillion-pound fiscal gap.

A fresh general betting duty rate of 25% begins in 2027. This excludes self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool betting and horse racing. Horse racing escapes the gambling tax increases as expected. The sport ran a strong campaign highlighting the major risks it faces. Officials plan to freeze casino gaming duty bands from 2026 to 2027. Normal RPI uprating resumes after this period. The OBR stated: “Behavioural responses to these changes remain uncertain but reduce yield by approximately one-third. Operators will likely pass through about 90% of the duty increases by raising prices or cutting payouts. Consumer demand drops, which cuts yield from the measure by £0.5bn by 2029-30.

“Elasticities for estimating demand effects include possible shifts to illicit markets. They also cover substitution between gambling types due to the tax differences this policy creates. “Operators will probably restructure products over time to reduce tax costs. The policy makes big gaps between rates for different gambling forms. This cuts yield by another £0.1bn.” The House Speaker criticised the leak in parliament today. Other MPs also attacked extensive media briefings before the budget.