Labour Party Announces UK Budget with £40bn Tax Increase, Excludes Gambling Sector from Tax Hike

In its first UK Budget in 15 years, the Labour Party has announced £40 billion ($52 billion) in tax increases aimed at filling what it describes as a £22 billion “black hole” inherited from the previous Conservative administration. Speculation had been mounting that the gambling sector might face a significant tax increase, with influential think tanks proposing a potential £3 billion tax hike on the industry.

Executives like Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), and Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment, swiftly raised concerns over the possible impacts of such a tax on the industry. However, in the Budget presentation delivered by Rachel Reeves today, it was clarified that gambling duties would remain unchanged for now.

The only reference to gambling within the Budget indicated that the gross gaming yield bands for gaming duty would remain frozen from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. Additionally, the UK Government announced plans to conduct a consultation next year on potential changes to unify the remote gambling tax.

Following this news, gambling industry stocks saw a positive response. As of 12:30 PM UK time, just before Reeves’ speech, Entain’s share price was 720.80 GBp. By 2:32 PM, it had risen 6.1% to 765.08 GBp. Other companies also saw notable gains: Flutter’s share price increased by 5.9% to 18,300.00 GBp by 2:34 PM, The Rank Group’s stock climbed 8.1% to 89.96 GBp at 2:35 PM, and Evoke’s share price rose by 9.8% to 58.00 GBp at 2:39 PM.

The Labour Party had addressed the gambling industry in its manifesto before taking office, pledging to work collaboratively with the sector to promote responsible gaming and betting standards.

Commenting on the Budget, BGC CEO Grainne Hurst expressed support, stating: “We welcome today’s Budget and its commitment to not increase gambling duties on the regulated betting and gaming sector. We have been clear, any duty rises now would have hit customers, prevented growth, risked jobs and bolstered the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.”

Hurst continued, “Government has listened to the BGC and our members, got the balance right, and rejected calls from anti-gambling prohibitionists seeking to threaten jobs and growth. With policy for the sector already set, our members can look to support the Government’s ambitious growth agenda, generating tax, jobs and investment across the nation while continuing to support sports like horseracing.”

She also addressed the impact of other budget measures on the sector, noting, “While there have been no rises in gambling duties, we will study the impact that increased Employers’ National Insurance Contributions will have on BGC members, particularly smaller operators like independent bookmakers and land-based leisure operators, like casinos.”

By fLEXI tEAM