UK Operators Plan for £100m+ Revenue Hits After Online Tax Increases

The leading UK online operators have outlined plans to cut costs in a number of areas after the government announced online gambling tax increases, which are set to cost operators hundreds of millions of pounds per year.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced remote gaming duty is to increase from 21% of gross profit to 40% in April 2026. On top of this, general betting duty, paid on online sports betting, will go up from 15% of gross profit to 25% in April 2027; this will exclude bets on horseracing.

Entain to cut marketing and promotions

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has forecast the changes will cost the company £200 million per year before mitigations are taken into account. According to Entain, approximately 25% of the impact can be mitigated by reducing marketing and promotions as soon as the tax changes are implemented. This will equate to an EBITDA impact of approximately £100 million in 2026 and about £150 million in 2027. However, Entain believes it can capture market share, with others being forced to exit the UK market.

Stella David, Entain CEO, said:

"We are deeply disappointed by today's decision to punitively increase UK gambling taxes, putting at risk an industry which already contributes £7 billion annually to the UK economy and supports over 100,000 jobs across the country.

“Disproportionately increasing gambling taxes will not only have a detrimental impact on our industry, but also heightens the risk for customers. As seen in other countries, punitive tax increases often lead to lower tax revenues overall, whilst also driving players to illegal, unregulated operators with no player protections. The government must now urgently tackle the black market and the consequences of today's decision.”

Even bigger impact for Flutter

Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet, has also made forecasts on the impact of the tax increases, with expectations these will cost the company approximately $320 million (£241.9 million) in fiscal 2026 and $540 million (£408.1 million) in fiscal 2027.

Flutter said it will have to mitigate this by reducing operational, promotional and marketing spend, which will account for approximately 20% of the gross impact of the first six months post implementation, and this is likely to go up to 40% thereafter.

Kevin Harrington, Flutter UK and Ireland CEO, said:

“The Chancellor rightly wants to address harm, but these changes will hand a big win to illegal, unlicensed gambling operators who will become more competitive overnight.

“These black market operators don't pay tax and don't invest in safer gambling. At 40%, the UK's remote gaming duty is now above countries such as the Netherlands, where a recent tax increase saw a rise in illegal gambling and a fall in government receipts.”

Supplier savings among Evoke cuts

Meanwhile, William Hill owner Evoke said its duty costs will increase by £125 million to £135 million per year after the tax rises are fully implemented, with about £80 million of the pre-mitigation impact arising in FY26. Supplier savings, reduced marketing, retail store closures, operating cost savings, and potential changes to the customer proposition will help Evoke mitigate approximately 50% of the impact.

Evoke CEO Per Widerstrom said:

“We will begin immediately on executing our mitigation plans, which involve a significant reduction in investment into the UK, and, very regrettably, the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country.”

BGC hits out

Elsewhere, Grainne Hurst, CEO of representative body the Betting & Gaming Council, said the planned changes are “a massive win for the incredibly, harmful, unsafe, regulated gambling black market, which pays no tax and offers none of the protections that exist in the regulated sector.”