In this section: Every tax
Betting and gaming duties
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A group of separate duties on bookmakers, casinos, online gaming, bingo, gaming machines and the National Lottery. Operators, on their gross profits. Punters pay no tax on winnings. It raised £3.8bn in 2025–26, which is 0.4% of everything HMRC collects and 0.12% of the economy. That is up £215m (5.9%) on the year before.
Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: HM Revenue and Customs.
Key figures
- £3.8bnRaised in 2025–26 up on a year earlier: +£215m (+5.9%) vs 2024–25
- 0.12%Of the whole economy (GDP) unchanged on a year earlier: no change vs 2024–25
- -2.3%In real terms, against the 2018–19 peak Adjusted for inflation with the GDP deflator
Sources: HM Revenue and Customs, HM Treasury.
What is the short version?
- How big: £3.8bn in 2025–26, 0.4% of everything HMRC collects; after inflation, 4% more than in 2015–16.
- Latest change, 2019: The maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals is cut from £100 to £2, sharply reducing machine games duty.
- Where it goes: Good causes, for the lottery only, like almost every tax: it is not earmarked.
- The argument: Gambling imposes costs through addiction, debt and family breakdown; against that, harm is concentrated in a small minority; most gamblers impose no cost.
How much does it raise?
The numbers behind this chart
| Financial year | Cash | Real, 2025-26 prices |
|---|---|---|
2006–07Details for 2006–07 | £1,391m | £2,277m |
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2007–08Details for 2007–08 | £1,481m | £2,378m |
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2008–09Details for 2008–09 | £1,474m | £2,282m |
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2009–10Details for 2009–10 | £1,439m | £2,199m |
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2010–11Details for 2010–11 | £1,533m | £2,303m |
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2011–12Details for 2011–12 | £1,633m | £2,402m |
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2012–13Details for 2012–13 | £1,680m | £2,429m |
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2013–14Details for 2013–14 | £2,098m | £2,972m |
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2014–15Details for 2014–15 | £2,116m | £2,956m |
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2015–16Details for 2015–16 | £2,666m | £3,698m |
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2016–17Details for 2016–17 | £2,742m | £3,729m |
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2017–18Details for 2017–18 | £2,860m | £3,841m |
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2018–19Details for 2018–19 | £2,985m | £3,919m |
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2019–20Details for 2019–20 | £3,019m | £3,862m |
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2020–21Details for 2020–21 | £2,837m | £3,449m |
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2021–22Details for 2021–22 | £3,074m | £3,728m |
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2022–23Details for 2022–23 | £3,303m | £3,743m |
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2023–24Details for 2023–24 | £3,389m | £3,648m |
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2024–25Details for 2024–25 | £3,616m | £3,741m |
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2025–26Details for 2025–26 | £3,831m | £3,831m |
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Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: HM Revenue and Customs, HM Treasury.
It raised more than the year before, but the other taxes grew faster, so its share of the total fell.
How "real terms" is worked out
Real terms use HM Treasury's GDP deflator, rebased to 2025-26 prices. That is the measure the Treasury and the OBR use for public finances; the consumer price index is the right one for a shopping basket, not for the size of the state.
How does it work?
There is no single gambling tax. General betting duty covers bookmakers, remote gaming duty covers online casinos, machine games duty covers slot machines, and bingo, lottery and gaming duties cover the rest. Rates differ by activity.
Since 2001 the duty has been charged on the operator’s gross profits rather than on the stake. Before that, punters paid a betting levy on every bet placed.
Winnings are not taxable income in the UK, which follows from taxing the operator instead. That is unusual internationally.
Since 2014 the duty has applied on a point-of-consumption basis: an operator taking bets from UK customers pays UK duty regardless of where it is based, which closed the offshore route.
How has it changed?
How it got here, and why each change was made:
- 1961Betting shops are legalised and a betting duty is introduced, charged on the punter’s stake.
- 2001The levy on stakes is abolished and replaced by a duty on operators’ gross profits, largely to stop the industry moving offshore.
- 2014A point-of-consumption basis is introduced, so offshore operators serving UK customers pay UK duty.
- 2019The maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals is cut from £100 to £2, sharply reducing machine games duty.
Where does the money go?
Good causes, for the lottery only. Lottery duty itself goes to the Exchequer, but a separate and much larger share of lottery ticket sales goes to good causes under the licence, not as a tax. The duties on betting, gaming and machines are not earmarked at all.
Because it is not earmarked, the only honest way to show what it pays for is by proportion. If betting and gaming duties receipts of £3.8bn were spent in the same proportions as all public spending in 2025-26, they would break down like this. It is an illustration of scale, not a statement about where those particular pounds went.
See for every £100 of tax for the full picture.
Does it change what people do?
The 2019 cut to fixed-odds betting terminal stakes is a clear case of regulation shrinking a tax base deliberately: machine games duty fell sharply and the government accepted the loss as the price of reducing harm.
When a tax rise stops raising money looks at the cases where the effect has been large enough to move the revenue.
What are the arguments?
The case for it
- Gambling imposes costs through addiction, debt and family breakdown.
- Taxing operators rather than punters is simpler and keeps betting legal and regulated.
- Point-of-consumption rules stopped the offshore race to the bottom.
- It raises billions from a discretionary activity.
The case against
- Harm is concentrated in a small minority; most gamblers impose no cost.
- Higher duty can push players towards unlicensed operators who pay nothing.
- The rates bear little relation to the harm each product causes.
- Revenue dependence gives government an interest in the industry continuing.
Both columns are set out as their strongest case, not as a preferred answer and a strawman. See how this site handles contested questions.
Common questions
- How is gambling taxed?
- A group of separate duties on bookmakers, casinos, online gaming, bingo, gaming machines and the National Lottery. Operators, on their gross profits. Punters pay no tax on winnings.
- How much does betting and gaming duties raise?
- £3.8bn in 2025–26, which is 0.4% of everything HMRC collects.
- Where does betting and gaming duties go?
- Good causes, for the lottery only. Lottery duty itself goes to the Exchequer, but a separate and much larger share of lottery ticket sales goes to good causes under the licence, not as a tax. The duties on betting, gaming and machines are not earmarked at all.
Use this data
The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in Sources for this page; most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence. Only our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them, including commercially, if you credit Tekstak Ltd and link back to this page.
Download
- Betting and gaming duties receipts by financial year (CSV) JSON HM Revenue and Customs: Open Government Licence v3.0
- Total HMRC receipts by financial year (CSV) JSON HM Revenue and Customs: Open Government Licence v3.0
- All data, field definitions and licences
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Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK | HM Revenue and Customs | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP | HM Treasury | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.