MrQ Parent Company Claims Stagnant UK Economy Causing Challenges

Lindar Media, parent company of operator MrQ, has claimed the UK market reflects “stagnation in the UK economy” and that taxation levels continue to provide “existential challenges”.

The warnings about the market were made in Lindar Media’s latest filing on Companies House, which showed turnover for the full year 2025 was £120.3 million, up from £96.9 million the year prior.

Profit before taxation dropped from £12.2 million to £8.5 million. However, profit after taxation went up to £7.7 million from £6.3 million. Shareholder funds dipped from £10.4 million to £9.1 million.

Tax burden

Mr Q launched in the UK in 2018 as an online bingo and casino operator; the site does not offer sports betting. From April 2027, remote gaming duty (RGD), paid on online casino bets, was raised in the UK from 21% of gross gambling yield (GGY) to 40%.

In its strategic report within the Companies House filing, Lindar Media said the cost of living in the UK and the regulatory tax burden is impacting consumer discretionary spend.

The company said:

“The company's results remain directly linked to the level of player activity generated in the UK market. The uplift in taxation legislated by the current UK government on remote gaming duty, corporation tax and employment taxation continue to provide existential challenges to the ongoing level of profitability achievable by the group.

“The overall UK market remains largely static, reflecting stagnation in the UK economy with persistently high levels of inflation and increased taxation. The increased market share forecast for 2026, will allow some of these downside pressures to be resisted and the directors expect profitability to be maintained.”

Market heading in one direction

Increased taxation, or the potential for increased taxation, is currently a hot topic of conversation in the UK market. On top of the RGD increase, general betting duty (GBD), paid on online sports bets, will go up from 15% of GGY to 25%; bets on horseracing will be exempt from the increase.

There is also the possibility of a significant increase in machine games duty, with reports suggesting UK Chancellor John Healey is considering raising the rate to 40% of net takings, which would be double the current rate of 20% of revenue generated on gaming machines in both casinos and bingo halls.

While the GBD increase and potential MGD increase do not impact Lindar Media directly, they can be taken as a sign of where the UK market is heading.

The UK’s change of Prime Minister to Andy Burnham in July appears to have provided little to no respite. After taking over, Burnham caused controversy by grouping betting shops with vaping shops as “dodgy businesses”.

In August, the government announced plans to revoke the “aim to permit” rule stipulated in the Gambling Act 2005, which would mean local councils would have greater power to prevent gambling venues from opening.

Lindar Media’s background

Lindar Media launched in 2014, four years before the launch of MrQ. To begin with, the company created a variety of bingo websites, founding affiliate programs, and developing software solutions for other marketing companies. The group now focuses exclusively on developing MrQ.

In 2023, Lindar Media agreed to pay a £690,947 settlement to British regulator the Gambling Commission after being found to have committed social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

The settlement was reached in lieu of a financial penalty and Lindar Media paid towards the Commission’s cost of investigating the case.