2026 looks like being a difficult year for the UK’s online casino industry. Stricter regulation and an upcoming tax increase are reasons for that being so. One company has already exited the market but ITV Win Bingo & Spins is soon to launch. Let’s look at what the next 12 months could have in store for the industry.
ITV recently sold a large amount of their media assets to Sky. Now they are moving into the online casino market with an extension of their ITV Wins enterprise. That has offered prize competitions and draws but now online slot games and bingo will be available to play.
The site is being run by UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licence holders Richmond Atlantic. They previously ran the Betzone sportsbook. The company will be responsible for key areas such as safer gambling procedures, account protection, complying with UKGC regulations and risk management.
The Gaming Innovation Group will produce the site that it’s promised will be packed with top slot games. As for the bingo element of the site, that is going to be in the hands of Pragmatic Play who have a strong reputation in the gambling industry.
ITV are entering the iGaming industry at a difficult time. There will be an extensive advertising campaign and they do have a healthy number of site members from ITV Win, so it’s not as if they are starting from scratch like many newcomers to the market.
2025 was a year that had a lot of bad news for the UK’s online gambling industry. A mandatory levy was placed on companies with the aim of helping the fight against gambling harm. Monies raised (around £100m a year) will help fund research into gambling harm. It will also be used to treat those who have sought treatment for gambling problems with a proportion of the funds raised going to the NHS.
Then came the Autumn Budget in November and more bad news for the gambling industry, particularly the online sector. In the weeks leading up to the budget speech, there had been plenty of talk about possible tax increases being announced. That had been the case the previous year but no increases were made.
It was not to be in 2025 with the Chancellor mentioning the harm that online gambling is causing to site members. An increase in the rate of Remote Gambling Duty for online casinos from 21% to 40% will take place in April 2026. The following year will also see Online Betting Duty go up from 15% to 25%.
The only good news is that Bingo Duty will be abolished in April of this year. That will be good news for those who love playing online and visit land-based bingo halls on the Isle of Wight.
The Chancellor believes that by 2029-30 the increases will be raising an additional £1.1bn a year as per UK casino marketing firm Gambler Media. The horse racing industry breathed a sigh of relief when they were exempted from the increases. Unlike with some other decisions made by the Chancellor, there has been little sign of any U-Turn on the decision despite the adverse reaction of the gambling industry.
The UK online gambling industry has been hugely successful. It is no surprise therefore that the government has seen it as an ideal target from which to raise funds to help boost the struggling economy.
Grianne Hurst is the CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) described the tax increases as “massive” and “among the highest in the world.” Their introduction will be a “ devastating hammer blow to tens of thousands of people working in the industry across the UK, and millions of customers who enjoy a bet.”
The CEO said that the UK’s regulated betting and gaming industry is “one of the UK’s few globally successful sectors” with £6.8bn being generated annually for the economy, paying over £4bn in tax, providing 109,000 jobs and supporting British sport via sponsorship.
Her fear is that the “excessive online tax increases will undermine jobs, investment and growth across the UK.” In her view it is also a “massive win for the incredibly harmful, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.”
They do not offer the same level of protection as the regulated industry. Yet one of the reasons given by the Chancellor for the increases was the gambling harm being caused by online gambling sites. Another blow for the Chancellor would be the fact that the unregulated market does not pay any tax.
If the increases are to see the desired revenues received, then action needs to be taken against the unregulated market. If not, then the financial results for licensed sites will be hit and the anticipated amount of tax revenue may not be heading to the Treasury.
