The Autumn Statement has revealed that no tax increases will be applied to UK Gambling in the 2024 Budget.

Announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who this afternoon presented the UK’s first Budget statement by a female chancellor and the Labour Party’s first fiscal policies in 14-years.

In her address, Reeves directly chastised former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and outgoing Conservative Party Leader Rishi Sunak of hiding a £22bn black-hole in UK finances.

Reeves immediately stated that the Treasury needed to raise £40bn in taxes to secure the economy and the government’s spending plan to improve public services.

The budget was set in line with the OBR’s forecast that UK inflation will remain at 2%, as Reeves cautioned that the Treasury had reviewed contributions from all sectors, noting that the Labour government faces “tough choices.”

In the weeks leading up to the Budget, the Treasury received recommendations from think tanks, including the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Social Market Foundation (SMF), to increase taxes on UK gambling.

Concerns for the gambling sector were heightened by the SMF, which urged the Treasury to double taxes on all online gambling activities from 21% to 42%, potentially raising £1bn annually.

The proposal was justified by the SMF, citing that “over half of Britons support increasing tax on online gambling.” The IPPR recommended doubling taxes on “high-risk gambling segments,” such as online casino games, slots, and sports betting, arguing for a “polluter pays” principle to be applied to the gambling sector.

However, the Budget’s breakdown of tax policies revealed no changes to UK gambling taxes, which will maintain its tiered threshold of 15%-to-50% for land-based gaming and 21% for remote gambling duties.

The Chancellor confirmed the Labour government’s pledge to impose specific tax charges on the sale of vapes and vaping oils. Additionally, the budget included PM Keir Starmer’s commitment to impose taxes on soft and sugary drinks.

A new measure saw Reeves announce that the UK will become the first country to impose a 50% tax on private jet flights, remarking that this “may inconvenience those with travel plans to California”— a statement directed pointedly at Rishi Sunak.

General alcohol duties will remain unchanged; however, the Treasury will cut draft duties by 1%, “saving pub customers 1 penny on the pint.”

The Chancellor’s key fiscal change will lower the national insurance threshold for UK businesses to £5,000—a measure the Treasury acknowledges as “unpopular” but anticipates will raise £20bn in taxes.

Further headline measures saw Chancellor Rachel Reeves announce a new structure for capital gains taxes on investments and property, with the lower rate set to increase from 10% to 18%, the higher rate from 20% to 24%, while the residential property tax rate remains at 18%.

Published this afternoon, the Budget document revealed that “The Gross Gaming Yield bandings for gaming duty will be frozen from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026.”

Regarding changes to remote gambling duties, the government announced plans to “consult next year on proposals to bring remote gambling (including internet, telephone, TV, and radio) under a single tax structure, rather than the current three-tax system” with the aim of simplifying, future-proofing, and closing loopholes in the existing framework.

Previously disclosed ahead of the Autumn Statement, the Labour government confirmed it would proceed with applying VAT duties to private school fees starting January 2025.

In closing her statement on taxes, Reeves reiterated that tax measures had been carefully assessed across all industries, marking the Labour government’s initial economic plans to restore the UK “back to to financial stability.”

The Budget statement was welcomed by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), as CEO Grainne Hurst, declared: “We welcome today’s budget and its commitment to not increase gambling duties on the regulated betting and gaming sector.

“We have been clear, any duty rises now would have hit customers, prevented growth, risked jobs and bolstered the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market. The Government has listened to the BGC and our members, got the balance right, and rejected calls from anti-gambling prohibitionists seeking to threaten jobs and growth.”

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