Bingo Duty
Find out if you should pay Bingo Duty on profits from games played in the UK, how to calculate your Bingo Duty, send returns and how to pay.
Bingo Duty has been abolished from 1 April 2026. You do not need to register or submit returns for any periods that start on or after this date.
If you’re liable for Bingo Duty for any period starting before 1 April 2026, you still need to submit returns and pay HMRC for those periods.
Bingo Duty is paid on the profits you make from organising and promoting bingo games played in the UK, except:
- bingo you play in your home
- bingo on a machine that is covered by Machine Games Duty
- non-profit making bingo, where you do not charge a player a fee to take part
- bingo you play at certain amusement arcades and travelling fairs, if the stakes and prizes are below specific limits
Small-scale bingo is also exempt from Bingo Duty if it’s promoted by a club, organisation or other association of people that does not have a bingo operating licence, provided either of the following apply:
- only members of a club or organisation or their guests can play
- winnings or stakes do not exceed £500 on any one day, or £7,500 within any period of 4 or 5 weeks, ending on the last Sunday of each calendar month
If you offer bingo remotely (for example, over the internet) you’ll still be liable for Remote Gaming Duty and will also need to pay Remote Gaming Duty on bingo offered to UK customers.
Find out more about the exemptions from Bingo Duty.
Register
Bingo Duty has been abolished from 1 April 2026. You do not need to register for any periods on or after this date.
If you should have been registered for any period before 1 April 2026, you must contact HMRC to find out how to:
- submit outstanding returns
- pay HMRC what you owe
Calculating Bingo Duty
The duty rate is 10% of your profits in your accounting period. Your profits are your bingo receipts less any winnings you’ve paid out.
Your bingo receipts include all the payments you get from players to allow them to play bingo, for example:
- bingo cards
- participation fees
- stakes from Main Stage Bingo, Combined and Prize Bingo
You do not need to include things like:
- admission fees
- bingo club membership fees
- catering income
Your bingo winnings are:
- cash prizes
- the value of prizes that are not cash
- if the prize is a voucher, the value of the prize that the voucher can be exchanged for
Read more about bingo winnings and vouchers.
If your winnings are more than your receipts, you will not pay any Bingo Duty. You can use any losses on your return to reduce the amount of Bingo Duty you’ll pay in your next accounting period.
Returns and payments
You must send your completed monthly return including your Bingo Duty payment so that HMRC receives it no later than the 15th day following the end of your accounting period.
You can submit your Bingo Duty Return online. If you do not owe any Bingo Duty you must submit a nil return for that accounting period.
If you’re usually closed for a specific time, for example, over the winter months, you should tell HMRC about the dates you’ll be closed. You will not need to complete or submit returns for the months you’re closed.
If you do not send your return and payment on time you may have to pay a penalty.
Bingo Duty has been abolished from 1 April 2026. You’ll still be able to:
- submit any outstanding returns — you’ll have up to and including 31 March 2027 to submit any outstanding returns
- let us know if you have any over-declarations or under-declarations from previous accounting periods
Penalties and appeals
You could be charged a penalty if you do not comply with any of your obligations, such as if:
- you do not pay any Bingo Duty you owe
- your return or other tax document is not accurate and as a result you do not pay enough duty
- you do not tell HMRC if a duty assessment sent to you is too low
- you do not notify HMRC about any changes to your business at the right time
Find out more about penalties you may have to pay HMRC.
If you’ve been given a penalty and you think it’s wrong, you can appeal to HMRC.
Record keeping
If you pay Bingo Duty, you must keep the accounts and records necessary to:
- work out the bingo promotion profits
- allow HMRC to check the duty due
You must keep all your records for at least 3 years.
Find out more about record keeping.
VAT
Providing facilities for playing games of chance such as bingo is normally exempt from VAT, but there are some exceptions.
Find out more about VAT and Bingo Duty in Notice 701/29 betting, gaming and lotteries.
Updates to this page
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Bingo Duty has been abolished from 1 April 2026. This guidance has been updated in section 'Register' by removing how to register and adding that if you should have been registered you must contact HMRC, in section 'Returns and payments' by adding that you'll have up to and including 31 March 2027 to submit outstanding returns online. Section 'Changes to your details' has been removed because you will not need to tell HMRC about changes to your details.
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First published.