Flutter Entertainment and UK & Ireland CEO Kevin Harrington have issued a response to the UK Autumn Budget Statement, which included a rise in Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) from 21% to 40% for operators.
"Today's tax increases are a very disappointing outcome and will have a significant adverse impact on our industry," Harrington said.
"The Chancellor rightly wants to address harm, but these changes will hand a big win to illegal, unlicensed gambling operators who will become more competitive overnight."
Flutter also explained the UK Autumn Budget Statement will result in an approximate $320m adjusted EBITDA impact throughout fiscal year (FY) 2026, prior to mitigation efforts being made, as well as a $540m impact for FY2027.
The increase in RGD is set to go into effect by April 2026, while a new online sports betting duty will be introduced at 25% beginning in April 2027. The online sports betting duty will exclude self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets and horseracing.
For the online sports betting and iGaming tax increases, Flutter plans to utilise mitigation efforts such as reduced operational, promotional and marketing spend to help offset the potential impact by 20% over the first six months and increasing to 40% thereafter.
As a result of such efforts, Flutter expects to offset the $320m adjusted EBITDA impact by $85m in FY2026, and $201m of the $540m impact estimated for FY2027.
Despite stating the tax increases will have a "very significant impact" on the UK's overall gaming market, Flutter still believes the opportunity to "deliver material second order mitigation benefits," such as market share gains, could be presented in the medium-term.
Operators such as Rank Group, Entain and Evoke have also spoken out against the tax increase on 26 November, with Entain CEO Stella David having been "deeply disappointed" by the RGD increase.
"Disproportionately increasing gambling taxes will not only have a detrimental impact on our industry but also heightens the risk for customers. As seen in other countries, punitive tax increases often lead to lower tax revenues overall, whilst also driving players to illegal, unregulated operators with no player protections," David said.
Evoke stated the changes in tax rates are estimated to have a $165.5-178.7m annual effect on duty costs paid by the operator, with approximately $105.9m of the impact arising in 2026, prior to any mitigation efforts.
Flutter reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2025 on 12 November, as the operator witnessed a total revenue increase of 17% to $3.8bn but a net loss of $789m throughout the period
