Taxation on gambling to raise £1.1 billion>>>>>>

No rise in machine gaming duty which is another win for Racing in respect of Levy from shops.

Shows how much you know.  If the machines are hit really hard thousands of shops will close.  Racing gets paid based on how many shops are open.

Online sports up to 25% from 15% and online casinos almost doubled which I am sure will please most of us on here.

Learn to read before you jump in Howard, as I said NO increase on machines in shops!! HTH

Flippin hell cag....you could start a row whilst alone on an uninhabited island ffs...

true misread it.  But where's the money thought to be coming from ? just online betting ?

Looks like mainly online casinos Howard plus the rise on online sports other than racing.

sounds good hope it's true

How will this all effect the peops who bought ure cistern fur 600k

howey,curious what a cherry picked selleckshun of bets shows please?

they are ALL my bets with my only active online bookie for this year with the exception of a £15 bet that opened the account

I don't use bookies 99% of the time

Horse Racing did very well there, all considering. Shops will stay open.

Not that they were going to close anyway!

I say a WIN for Horse Racing

betfair will now pay 25% on sports bets ?  ( exl. racing )

How will all this effect liquid on ere

any bookmaker allowing £1000 on a 7/4 does so for a reason.

i cannot get near £1000 on an odds on chance with denises mob.

Online casinos almost doubled. To say I'm pleased is an understatement. Could have been 50% but happy with 40% that's a big punch anyway to the greedy online casinos!

20,000 ISA limit remaining for us over 65,s is a nice around 300 quid a yr winner,we looked like losing

20,000 ISA limit remaining for us over 65,s is a nice around 300 quid a yr winner,we looked like losing

some books let you have a go for a while  it was the king george ffs not a AW race

but yeah laddies h1lls fred had me on less than tenners before I left

You need another £20k that is not already in an ISA though 1st time. I have nearly all of my savings in either cash or investment ISAs already but I might manage to scrape together £20k for one more year after April 6. I am still not clear if online horse racing is unaffected. I interpreted it as on course or cash in shops would stay on 15% but online would go up to 25%.

Racing Post says all racing including online. Which is good news for us all unless we want to ban betting on horses.

Still not sure how a higher tax will affect problem gamblers though. They will just go skint in 10 days instead of 14.

The best result Horse Racing could have asked for

I did think the shop bookies machines would have got a slight increase.

will Rachel be taxing tobymugaryliar on his £600,000 cistern?

General betting duty, paid on other forms of sports betting, will remain at 15 per cent in betting shops - but from April 2027 will rise from 15 to 25 per cent online.


Looks like bookies will want you to put your footie bets on in the shops from April.

April 2027

The OBR also revealed abolition of bingo duty from its current ten per cent rate.  Good news for your new year afternoons Rico

betting exchange commission is a specific sub-category of general betting duty liability, so let's hope that they leave that unchanged to avoid complications. I can't see BF having a lower rate of commission on horse racing than other sports, if they feel that they have to raise commission. Poker is going to get facked with 40% duty. It's already in decline - this might see any uk focussed sites pulling out.

Surely now, Big corp will encourage people to bet on more Horse Racing? I really think this is a Massive Win for Horse Racing

"I can't see BF having a lower rate of commission on horse racing than other sports"  Wouldn't be sure about that.  How can they leave them the same if they are being charged more for sports profits ?

Rico I would get your order in for dish before they stop installing them

can buy a dish and get a satellite installer to line it up..next door has a sky dish that hes never used since i sold him the house in 2018.

1.01 The Racing Post will soon post headlines saying Horse Racing hit hard or something similar. Instead, the industry should be very pleased with the outcome.

How can they leave them the same if they are being charged more for sports profits ? My point is that they'll just raise comm on everything

I've got the where for all for a good few NEW  yrs of, 40 grand between me and Mrs in cash ISA,s, 12 grand limited would have added a few more yrs getting it  invested free of tax,

so you will still be using your mates box ?


"How can they leave them the same if they are being charged more for sports profits ? My point is that they'll just raise comm on everything"    They could do but it wouldn't be fair on horse punters would it ?

Betfair charge different commission for Autralia based bets so they could seperate the markets between horse racing and everything else. Just think they'll take the oppertunity to raise the 2% across the board and blame the budget.

*Australia

depends what purple do.  we only got 2% because of them

aye howey 'if'i decided to play from home.

What about people who buy shares in companies=thats gambling
are they going to pay higher tax?
A lot of MP'S like to gamble on the stock exchange

There are so few real changes that I can't see any improvement in public finances before 2028. Could that be because we have local elections in May? And of course the extra for Wales is all about the assembly elections on the same day.

There's party politics obviously, especially the benefits giveaway is internal politics. The reason why they are making changes in the distant future is the absurd system of the OBR calculating everything based on a five year forecast. They can't actually forecast accurately for next quarter, never mind 30/31.

bnpl, government style

klarna keir

So if this doc is correct

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-gambling-duties/gambling-duty-changes

The duty on exchanges remains the same, as it doesn't mention any amendment to the relevant law.

Dave exchanges will have to pay 25% on online sports betting won't they ?  Or are you saying it's possible exchanges will stay on 15% for everything ?

So if this doc is correct

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-gambling-duties/gambling-duty-changes

The duty on exchanges remains the same, as it doesn't mention any amendment to the relevant law.

Hurray........

141General betting duty charge on betting exchanges

(1)This section applies where—

(a)one person makes a bet with another person using facilities provided by a third person in the course of a business, and

(b)that business is one that does not involve the provision of premises for use by persons making or taking bets.

(2)General betting duty is charged on the amounts (“commission charges”) that any party to the bet who is a UK person is charged, whether by deduction from winnings or otherwise, for using those facilities
(3)No deductions are allowed from commission charges.

(4)The amount of duty charged under this section in respect of bets determined in an accounting period is 15% of the commission charges relating to those bets.
.

That would have to be amended and they don't mention doing so.

entain up 3.4% today. 

is fred still closing all his shops and moving to an Amish community in Ohio ?

obv they can do so at a later date, we won't know for certain until the finance bill is published

A new rate of General Betting Duty will be introduced for general bets made remotely (for example online) from 1 April 2027. The remote rate of 25% will apply to all remote betting other than remote bets on UK horseracing which will remain unchanged.   

Sounds like Betfair will pay 25% on sports to me. Unless you were correct that exchanges were treated differently and will continue to be so. Believe that when I see it.

They surely can't charge online bookies 25% on sports bets and exchanges 15% Dave

howard I've given you the law setting the rate of duty on betting exchanges. I've linked the document where the government details the changes in the law it's going to make.

Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2025-26 that:

    amends section 155(3) of Finance Act 2014. The Remote Gaming Duty rate will be amended to reflect the increase from 21% to 40%
    adds new sections to Part 3, Chapter 1 of Finance Act 2014 to introduce the new remote betting duty rate of 25%


That says nothing about s141.

As I said they could go errr let's add this in later. But on the face of what they have published, there is no change.

Exchanges should boom now ...?

Dave they don't have to mention it.  Sports betting goes above any other category. Anyone doing sports betting will pay 25%. It may be written somewhere in time or not.  Not a snowball's chance in hell laddies online footie will pay 25% and exchanges online footie pays 15%.

Howard in a document that details all the changes in the law they are going to make, they have to mention all the changes in the law they are going to make. I cba arguing with you any more. If they don't amend s141 of that Act, exchanges still pay 15% duty.. end of

they will amend it that's the bottom line and that's all that counts. There's no argument other than you pointing out something that's not in the small print at the moment. If you have any brain you will know what's coming.

Don't have a go at Dave. All he's done is usefully point out that our rulers don't seem to have noticed this potential ambiguity. In fact, considering how many years it is since the tax legislation for exchanges came into effect, we're probably ruled now by a generation which simply doesn't understand what a betting exchange is. I mean, let's face it, few people do. Too complicated innit.

They will look at this thread and make amendments 

Or do nothing and be surprised when it results in an expensive court case in about 2030 to resolve the issue.

laddies will be resolving the issue ....by 2030...TONIGHT.

Well done horse racing on "dodging a bullet", as the Racing Post say and putting their case forward. BUT I wonder if it is morally right that a major sport (which I love) is apparently so reliant on bookmakers and therefore losing punters for its continued existence? I watch racing from abroad and wonder why do we bother with bookies. But I am a small time but regular punter not looking for any great value, just betting for fun. Just a thought.

I spent about £2k on golf last year and didn't even buy any new clubs. People pay for entertainment. Betting on horses isn't any different.

I'm siding with the posters suggesting (cautiously) this could be a good thing for us exchange users....

There could be a couple of factors - bookies in decline could push more exchange use, racing being relatively protected.

But ultimately I will just wait and see - trying to guess is pointless really, as we won't be able to stop any changes either way.

It also often takes ages for any concrete changes (e.g. commission choices etc) to emerge, as all companies will also be taking their time to consider things over I reckon.

Combination of minimu wage increase, and the 40% rates relief for racing yards being abolished, is a possible source major concern for small to medium sized yards.

Easy to say racing has faired well but it doesn't apply to everyone.

Then again, if there are less horses entering the market (in particular NH types) there might not be a need for all the yards.
Sport becomes even more elitist.

If the online presence was subsisiding the bricks and  mortar presence, and on the horizon comes a big hit for the remote gambling (crack-cocaine) money trees, surely its of portentous significance for the High street.

Nov 26, 2025 -- 3:25PM, sageform wrote:

There are so few real changes that I can't see any improvement in public finances before 2028. Could that be because we have local elections in May? And of course the extra for Wales is all about the assembly elections on the same day.

The OBR scorecard period refers to the timeline and process by which the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publishes its economic and fiscal forecasts.

The OBR typically publishes an Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) around six weeks before the government's statement, which includes a scorecard of costings for policy measures.

The OBR's forecast process involves preparing a first-round economic forecast and commissioning forecasts from various government departments.

The scorecard includes a breakdown of tax and spending components for each policy measure, detailing the costs and uncertainties associated with those measures.

Chapter 2 sets out our forecasts for the economy over a five-year horizon. We cover our latest forecast changes in light of recent developments and the effect of policies in the Spring Statement.

flutter +2.51%

entain +4.97%

today's trading doesn't count does it, as the worst was priced in

Share price rises reflect relief not optimism. Not putting up the tax on in shop slot machines must be  a huge relief for the big shop chains but don't affect Flutter so much. It must horrify those who worry about gambling addiction. I only bet on Betfair Exchange so I await what changes take place there.

easy 4.97% return on your money for 1 day then cider.

I'm not really a day trader, certainly not second guessing the budget :)

in theory at least, the trading of equities is based on future expectation. so for example, the market expects the BoE to chip 25 points off the base rate next month. so shares that are based on yield and sensitive to sonia will have aligned with that expectation. If it cuts 0.25 then the prices won't move much, if it cuts 0.50 then they should spike.

With these firms, the news probably wasn't worst case scenario but I'd say they are still likely to be significantly down if zooming out.

horses have always been elitist....
reckon be not many of us than can
afford to run a horse ,etc etc...
never mind racing fees, think about
a horse for one of ye kids, cost a
feckinfortune... wareas footy is
accesible to all...

Had to laugh at Skeltons joke yesterday - running Laffer Curve on budget day. Needless to say it lost.

Entain and flutter shares are up because they have so much money, no impact from a budget would ever touch them. A few billion to flutter is like £100 to us

That may be what you think Trident but the bottom line for Racing is that Sponsorship and promotion of the sport from bookmakers is going to nosedive as their first response to mitigate their reduced profits, Betgoodwin (small admittedly) have already announced they are ending their sposorship.

Don't you wish that Racing still controlled the Tote or a similar system? Bookmakers will stop sponsoring or promoting racing and concentrate on Football and other betting media.

Racing never controlled the Tote sage, it was owned by the Govt via a public charter before Betfred bought it, a fact that should have made the sale illegal.

Nov 27, 2025 -- 12:17PM, CagliariG wrote:

That may be what you think Trident but the bottom line for Racing is that Sponsorship and promotion of the sport from bookmakers is going to nosedive as their first response to mitigate their reduced profits, Betgoodwin (small admittedly) have already announced they are ending their sposorship.

The betting firms have had it too good for too long. For too long its been about their profit over the good of the sport.

Does yesterdays news mean tough times ahead for racing? Absolutely. But lets not kid ourselves on that these firms will still record huge profits and the likes of Denise Coates will still be highly remunerated.

Threats of job losses and shops closing are done so these huge profits and salaries can still be met. They dont actually give two hoots for the sport, despite claiming to the contrary.

Listening to the Bet Goodwin guy on Nick Luck's podcast this morning was stark, as he claimed his firm is done with racing and that the racing industry should have been more aligned to the sympathies of the betting companies during the lobbying done pre budget. If he really thinks that could've happened then he's fooling himself.

You seem to be missing the reality SS, the huge profits you refer to have come from the online casinos, that is why the bookies are not too concerned about Racing as a priority.

Nov 27, 2025 -- 1:27PM, CagliariG wrote:

You seem to be missing the reality SS, the huge profits you refer to have come from the online casinos, that is why the bookies are not too concerned about Racing as a priority.

No not missing the reality at all.

Hence why I said the firms have had it too good for too long.

In essence, bookmakers online profits have taken an 80% hit.

Assuming the online model gets 75% of its profit fom casino type games and 25% from horse (say 60% is that) and sports betting (the remaining 40%) then for every £100 profit:

The original casino tax was £21, now going to be £40, the original horse and sports tax was £3.75, now going to be £4.75 (£2.25 + £2.50).

So the online bookmakers tax bill goes up from £24.75 per £100 profit to £44.75 per £100 profit on my assumption of the 75-25 split (which may be well wide of the actuals).

This is very bad news for sponsorship for a lot of sporting events.

oops, got me math wrong

Assuming the online model gets 75% of its profit fom casino type games and 25% from horse (say 60% is that) and sports betting (the remaining 40%) then for every £100 total profit:

The original casino tax was £15.75, now going to be £30, the original horse and sports tax was £3.75, now going to be £4.75 (£2.25 + £2.50).

So the online bookmakers tax bill goes up from £19.50 per £100 total profit to £34.75 per £100 total profit on my assumption of the 75-25 split (which may be well wide of the actuals).

No matter how its dressed up, this is very bad news for sponsorship for a lot of sporting events.

Bookies are more addicted to slots than the blokes you see rattling outside c0rals at 8:55am

Online bookmaking must be profitable if startups are making millions in competition with the established operators. Will the startups be the first to leave the industry? So long as the exchange operates, I will be happy as I never use anything else. Turnover on exchanges does seem to be falling so how long will they last? No way will I ever go back to betting with 120% over rounds.

And the reason to increase tax on bookmakers is to remove the 2 child cap.

I ask all working people is this fair:

Mum of five to get £2,770 a month in benefits thanks to Labour's Budget

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/mum-of-five-to-get-2-770-a-month-in-benefits-thanks-to-labour-s-budget/ar-AA1RhRDn?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ASTS&cvid=6929b5fa77634953a8dfaadc990652cd&ei=20

The raising of the 2-child cap was solely to take more kids out of the poverty line. This is possibly an indicator to not punish the children for the injudicious decisions of the parents. What next a 3-child cap/

How does racing think that this is a victory, the books are furious that racing went it alone, this notion that once things have died down racing and the books will be able to come together and the books will once agan embrace and promote racing is for the faries, if for no other reason than spite and wanting revenge the books are going to want to stick it to racing good and proper.

The raising of the 2-child cap was solely to take more kids out of the poverty line. This is possibly an indicator to not punish the children for the injudicious decisions of the parents. What next a 3-child cap/


It's especially impressive when you consider that the government has taken measures to ensure the boon in handouts only go to benefit the extra children, and not the parent(s). Perhaps they might be forced to provide them with breakfast now, at least.

Some of these parents should provide receipts for every penny they spend, then we'll see how much the kids get. 

My experience is: I see these parents (around my door) getting takeaways, having barbacues in the garden, smoking, drinking, getting tatoos and nails done, gemnerally everything bar spending money on the kids - they ase and still will be wasters and none of their kids will benefit.

her daughter in the picture has very few teeth so looks like sweets have been in good supply

This was a political decision. The Labour Party without the support of the majority of the foreigners and state-spongers will be history. This latest budget to increase spending on welfare, but not on capital expenditure to increase gdp could be Ms Reeves's last, possibly Mr Shameless too.

And, I do not think they will be missed by Labour supporters or UK Plc.