The UK’s online casino industry is still enjoying great financial success. Will this continue in 2026 with stricter regulation and from April considerably higher tax?
Since the COVID pandemic, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have been publishing data that covers revenue figures for the gambling industry. The latest figures go up to September of last year. It makes a comparison between results for Q2 of the 2025-26 financial year and the same period 12 months previously.
An added interest to the data was that this was the second quarter since a major change took place in the online sector of the UK’s gambling industry. April and May saw the introduction of maximum stakes for online slot games. Those aged 18-24 can now no longer stake more than £2 per spin and it’s £5 for older players.
Online total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) totalled £1.42 billion. That was a figure 8 percent higher than in the same period for the previous year. Real event betting GGY also increased with the total of £508 million being 12 percent up year-on-year.
Despite those new stake limits, the GGY for online slots was up 9 percent to £747 million. The number of spins rose by 4% to 24.4 billion. Both totals were record figures for the second successive quarter. It seems that fears the new stake limits would hit financial results haven’t come to fruition.
A major worry for UK operators in 2026 is the upcoming tax increases. Remote gaming duty is going to increase from 21% to 40% in April. This is a move that has been strongly criticised by gambling companies and there has been talk of cuts needing to be made in the future. This may not be just in terms of staff redundancies but also smaller bonuses being offered to customers.
Another problem for UK gambling companies this year will be new rules regarding bonuses and promo codes as per gamblermedia site. A new maximum figure of 10x for wagering requirements is coming into force in January. Promotions that cover more than one area of an online site will not be allowed. Therefore, offering a casino bonus if a certain amount of sports bets are made and vice versa will cease.
A new mandatory levy was introduced last year. This has a target of raising £100 million a year with funds being used to treat and carry out research into gambling harm. Betfred has already been talking about possibly closing some of their land-based betting shops. Figures for the financial year to 30 March 2025 showed a gross profit of £1 bn, up from £673 million for the previous one but from a 53 week reporting period.
Many gambling companies in the UK also operate in other global markets. Betfred have exited from nine US states and Spain in the past couple of years. Selling what were considered to be “unprofitability overseas businesses’ did help their financial position. A profit was made when selling their Spanish assets. Their main overseas market is now in South Africa. More attention may be paid to that country if the tax rises and stricter regulation in the UK cause too much damage to their profits.
Last March saw bet365 report revenue of £4 bn. Their 2024/25 financial year accounts showed that revenue had seen a 9 percent rise. A major factor was a growth of 25 percent in their online casino. While their revenue increased, their profit before tax fell by £147 million from the previous financial year.
The drop to £349 million was due to the costs incurred when moving into new markets in the USA and South America, new tax payments and reorganisation costs. Total profit for the financial period fell to £338.5 million after being £506.5 million last financial year.
The increased tax payments in the UK will hit them but the company says they will continue to expand in other markets. They will be “prioritising those markets which will deliver long-term sustainable revenues.”
Flutter Entertainment owns companies such as Paddy Power and Betfair (who they merged into one business) and Sky Bet. They have also expanded to other global markets in recent years. The USA has been important to the company with FanDuel enjoying tremendous success with revenue of over £2.4 bn. They don’t just have success in sportsbetting but also with their online casino business.
It’s not just in the UK where gambling taxes are rising. The same situation exists in Brazil where Flutter has great interest. The company expects to make cuts to their marketing budgets in the UK to lessen the impact of the tax rises.
2026 will be a key year for online gambling companies in the UK. Stricter regulation in addition to the tax rises are expected. Cuts may well be on the way and more emphasis placed on other markets to keep revenues and profits at high levels.