Interactive
UK – UK operators to see Remote Gaming Duty increase to 21 per cent
By Phil - 30 October 2018
British Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced increases in online gaming taxation in his Autumn Budget 2018, the third online tax increase in the last four years but one that was not as bad as some had feared.
Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) will increase from its current level of 15 per cent to 21 per cent coming into effect on October 1, 2019. The increase is coming in to offset the reduced taxation paid to the government from the FOBT stake cut despite the fact that the new lower stake won’t be enforced until April 2020.
Clive Hawkswood, Chief Executive of the Remote Gambling Association, fears some operators will focus on international markets to recoup revenues. “The UK is a mature market now. The increase in regulation and tax burden are making it less attractive,” he explained.
Analysts pitch the cost of the increase on operators as being around £200m per year. Over the first five years the extra RGD should generate £1.22bn while the FOBT stake cut is expected to cost the government £1.15bn over the same period.
