Published on 18th March 2016 by Andrew Mills

George Osborne announced in his recent budget that gaming duty bands will increase in line with inflation for accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2016.The Chancellor also announced plans to close a tax loophole by reforming the treatment of free and discounted gambling by offshore operators.

What is gaming duty?

Gaming duty is what casinos pay on their gross gaming yield. In the simplest terms, gross gaming yield is the amount of money players stake at the casino, minus the winnings that are paid out.There are different bands of gross gaming yield (GGY), meaning that rates rise as the GGY increases.

What does this mean?

At the moment, it is difficult to be sure as Mr Osborne has not announced what the specific increases will be, and it is therefore difficult to know how they will and will not effect.The plans will be revealed in the Finance Bill 2016, and operators will be liable to submit two returns, a three-month interim return, and a full return after a six-month accounting period.The second announcement the Chancellor made will be revealed in full in the Finance Bill 2017. If plans go ahead, amendments will be made to the tax treatment of discounted and free gambling, bringing Remote Gaming Duty in line with General Betting Duty.According to EY indirect tax partner, Tony Bullock “‘The Chancellor has closed another offshore loophole.”More information on the changes announced within the Chancellor’s budget speech will become available over the coming weeks.