RGD Responsible For Half Of UK Betting Receipts According to HMRC Data

Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) represented almost 50% of the total collected in UK betting and gaming duty receipts between April and July 2026, according to provisional data released by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

The findings disclosed in HMRC’s annual publication reported the tax yield for all betting and gaming taxes collected from August 2025 through to the end of Q2 of 2026.

And it seems RGD was the biggest contributor. Moreover, it showed early signs that the Treasury is reaping the benefits of the hike in online gambling tax rates.

Key takeaways

The 2026/27 financial year, which takes into account April 2026 to July 2026, explored the full range of gambling duties. HMRC claimed £1.93 billion in betting and gaming receipts, and the year-to-date receipts were 19% higher compared to the same period last year.

The RGD rise, which came into effect in April this year and covered online casino bets, was significant. Following much debate and argument leading into last year’s Budget, the RGD rate nearly doubled from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY). HMRC suggested that July offered some more useful insights, as this is where the receipts really took hold.

General betting duty (GBD), meanwhile, only accounted for 16.6% of all gambling duties. The impact was less dramatic, as the provisional total betting and gaming receipts between April and June only stood at £985 million, reflecting a mere 0.3% rise.

Meanwhile, it was a mixed bag according to other duty categories. GBD receipts for April to June dropped 14% to £161 million, while Lottery Duty receipts experienced a decline of 15% to £225 million. Gaming Duty, however, increased by 2% to £58 million.

Wave of changes across the industry

The figures reported come amid radical changes and growth across the wider regulated betting industry. The Gambling Act 2005, for example, paved the way for the growth of the regulatory system, and the creation of the British regulator, the Gambling Commission in 2007.

A ban on using credit cards for gambling was introduced in 2020, while a 2023 Gambling White Paper shared more than 60 proposals to update the country’s gambling laws. But according to Charlie Buckley, a senior research associate at the non-profit research agency More in Common UK, faith in the UK gambling industry has plummeted, with just 5% of those surveyed having a great deal of trust.

More change is expected, with GBD set to climb from 15% to 25% in April 2027, while horseracing will remain exempt, and the new tax regime could see the government raise more than £1 billion annually for the Exchequer. Meanwhile, the UK Chancellor, John Healey, could raise the Machine Games Duty (MGD) rate to 40% in his upcoming budget, which could spell trouble for the retail betting sector.

Settling into a new reality

The impact of the tax rises has already started to bite, and the CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Grainne Hurst, warned of the impact this will have on the industry, as she said:

“Public policy should not be driven by assumptions or ideology. It should be driven by evidence and an honest assessment of consequences.”

While the prevalence of the HMRC data might be hotly contested, the Treasury will arguably be delighted by the early gains from the immediate leap in remote gaming taxes. Perhaps they will view the budget as an opportunity to make further inroads into reforming the industry.