Rank Group reportedly plans to reduce headcount and above-the-line marketing spending, and renegotiate supplier partnerships, to mitigate a rise in remote gaming duty to 40%. The report also says the company is protecting performance marketing investment and customer bonusing.
Rank’s planned changes may affect suppliers and marketing activity as it responds to higher remote gaming duty.
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Flutter Entertainment said higher UK gambling taxes could let its scale win market share as smaller rivals pull back. The tax rise, effective in April, contributed to a 45% fall in second-quarter adjusted EBITDA, the company said. Flutter reported Sky Betting & Gaming recovered strongly in June after its April platform migration.
It was reported that provisional figures show UK remote gaming tax receipts increased by 108% following the tax rise announced last autumn. Industry figures said they needed further data before drawing conclusions.
According to provisional HMRC figures issued on 2 October 2026, remote gaming duty collected in July came to almost £590m, compared with £283m a year earlier — a jump of over 108%. The rate change had been introduced in April 2026, having been set out in the previous autumn budget.
Betfred founder Fred Done said a proposed increase in UK Machine Gaming Duty from 20% to 40% could force the company to close 495 shops within a year. He said this could put 2,575 jobs at risk and cost the Exchequer about £67 million in tax revenue; the proposal was reportedly under consideration ahead of the Autumn Budget.
Entain and Evoke reported lower profits amid the UK increase in Remote Gaming Duty, according to the companies’ statements cited in the report. Entain’s underlying profit fell 2% to £479m, while Evoke’s adjusted profit declined 10% to £150.2m and it reported £46m in additional gaming taxes during the period. The tax rate rose from 21% to 40% in April.
The Betting and Gaming Council said more than 540 betting shops had closed in Britain since last year’s Budget, with about 4,500 jobs lost. It warned that further tax increases could bring more closures and job losses; the Treasury said gambling duty rates for high-street shops had not changed.