UK betUK betting and gaming duties reach record £3.83bn in 2025/26ting and gaming duties reach record £3.83bn in 2025/26

UK betting and gaming tax receipts reached £3.83bn in the 2025/26 financial year. This is according to newly published annual data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The total was £215m higher than the £3.62bn collected in 2024/25. This shows year-on-year growth of 5.9%. It was also the highest figure in the 20-year series included in HMRC’s latest annual bulletin, which was published on 21 August.

Betting and gaming duties nevertheless grew more slowly than HMRC receipts overall. The department collected £937.8bn across all taxes during 2025/26. This was up 9.2% from the previous year. Betting and gaming therefore accounted for around 0.4% of the total.

Gambling duty receipts continue long-term rise

The latest  increase extends a sustained rise in the amount collected from the sector. Betting and gaming receipts stood at £3.39bn in 2023/24 and £3.30bn in 2022/23. This means annual receipts have increased by around 13% over two years and 16% over three years.

The longer-term change is more pronounced. HMRC collected £1.39bn from betting and gaming duties in 2006/07, meaning the cash total has risen by approximately 175% over the 20 years covered by the publication. The historical figures have not been adjusted for inflation.

The series shows only one substantial recent interruption to that growth. Receipts fell from £3.02bn in 2019/20 to £2.84bn in 2020/21. This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting retail gambling and the wider economy.

They recovered to £3.07bn the following year and have risen in every completed financial year since.

“UK betting and gaming duties generated a record £3.83bn in 2025/26, although growth remained below the increase in total HMRC receipts.”

HMRC data measures cash received

HMRC’s annual figures are recorded on a cash basis. This means they show when payments relating to tax liabilities were received rather than when the underlying gambling activity took place.

The betting and gaming figure is also an aggregate category. It does not show how much was generated by individual duties or distinguish between online and land-based gambling. It should therefore not be interpreted as a direct measure of gambling revenue, operator profitability or wider market growth.

The latest annual totals are aligned with HMRC’s 2025/26 annual report and accounts. The HMRC statistics table also contains monthly and historical figures for the taxes and duties administered by the department.

For the gambling industry, the £3.83bn total provides a measure of the sector’s direct duty contribution at a time when gambling taxation remains under close political and commercial scrutiny.

However, the slower rise compared with overall tax receipts means betting and gaming represented a slightly smaller share of HMRC’s total take than in 2024/25.