Gaming Duty (Excise Notice 453)
How Gaming Duty is charged, and who has to pay.
Overview
This notice explains:
- who is liable to pay Gaming Duty
- which games the duty applies to
- how you register and notify us of your premises
- the rates of duty and how they are worked out
- who has to account for Gaming Duty
- what records you must keep
- HMRC’s legal powers
Licences and law
The Gambling Act 2005 contains separate requirements for casino operating and premises licences. If you have any queries about this law or your licences, contact the:
Read more information in the section ‘the law on Gaming Duty’.
What Gaming Duty is
Gaming is defined in section 33(1) of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981, as amended by the Finance Act 2011.
Gaming Duty is a duty on casino gaming profits and is based on the ‘gross gaming yield’ for premises where gaming takes place. Premises includes any place and any means of transport.
Duty only applies to premises-based gaming (remote gaming is dealt with separately) including:
- games of chance, such as roulette and blackjack, where individuals play against a bank held by the gaming operator (casino games)
- equal chance games, such as backgammon and poker, where the gaming operator provides facilities for customers to play against each other
Casino games are games of chance that are not equal chance gaming, but subject to any conditions or listed games within a Treasury Order under section 10(5) of the Finance Act 1997.
Equal chance gaming in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), are games that do not involve playing against the bank (whether or not controlled or administered by any player) and the chances are equally favourable to all players. In Northern Ireland, it is gaming not covered by any conditions in Article 55 of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.
The ‘gross gaming yield’ consists of both:
- the total value of the stakes, minus players winnings, on games in which the house is the banker
- any charges made in connection with dutiable gaming, including charges made for participation in equal chance games such as poker
Dutiable gaming is gaming by means of casino games and equal chance gaming on any premises in the UK.
It does not include any charge which is made only for admission to the premises.
Find out the Excise Duty rates for Gaming Duty.
What Gaming Duty does not apply to
It does not apply to games that fall within the scope of Bingo Duty or Lottery Duty, or are covered by specific exemptions. These exemptions (under section 10(3) of the Finance Act 1997) cover:
- private gaming
- small scale gaming
- non-commercial gaming (such as member’s clubs and pubs that take place legally under social law)
Gaming Duty does not apply when playing a machine classified as an amusement machine for duty purposes.
Registration and notification of premises
You must register for Gaming Duty if you are:
- the holder of a casino premises licence under the Gambling Act 2005, if dutiable gaming takes place on the premises and the relevant licence remains in force
- a provider of unlicensed premises used for dutiable gaming
- concerned in the management or organisation of dutiable gaming on unlicensed premises, if that gaming takes place
A provider, in relation to any premises where gaming takes place, is any person having a right to control the admission of people to those premises (whether or not they have the right to control the admission of people to the gaming).
You must register for Gaming Duty no later than 14 days before you start to provide gaming.
If you’re operating as a partnership, you’ll also need to complete and submit form GD57: Partnership details.
When your registration has been processed, you’ll be given a Gaming Duty reference number. You should quote this number whenever you contact us about Gaming Duty.
Tell HMRC about your premises
You should tell us about your premises at the same time as you apply to be registered for Gaming Duty. You must complete and submit form GD58 Notification of Premises.
You should also use form GD58 to let us know about any subsequent changes to the premises you provide gaming from. This includes premises used for gaming under Temporary Use Notices. You may be liable to civil penalties if you do not tell us about changes.
Your registration covers all the premises you use to provide gaming. If 2 or more companies register as a group for Gaming Duty purposes, group registration will cover all the premises used to provide gaming by all the group members.
Report changes
You must tell HMRC within 7 days about any changes to the information you’ve given on your:
- application to register (form GD56)
- notification of premises (form GD58) shown in your entry on the register — you must tell us about any changes affecting companies that form part of your group for Gaming Duty purposes
If you stop trading, contact excise and gambling duties as soon as you know your last day of trading.
The liability of unregistered gaming
Unregistered gaming takes place on premises where the:
- premises are used to provide gaming liable to Gaming Duty
- person providing the gaming has not told us about those premises being used
- person providing the gaming is not registered with us
If unregistered gaming takes place at any time in an accounting period, Gaming Duty will be charged at 50% of the gross gaming yield from those premises for that whole 6-month accounting period.
If you fail to notify
You could be charged a penalty if you fail to notify us of your gaming business or of any business changes at the right time.
Find out more in Compliance checks: penalties for failure to notify.
Group registration
A group for the purposes of Gaming Duty is 2 or more companies which fulfil the following conditions:
- each potential member should be resident or have a place of business in the UK
- one of them should control each of the others
- one person (a company or an individual) should control all of them
- people carrying on a business in partnership control all of them
Getting agreement for group treatment
You can make an application online or by post, using form GD60 Apply for group treatment for Gaming Duty.
HMRC must receive your application at least 90 days before you want to be treated as a group (although we may agree to a shorter period). Your group registration cannot be granted until your application form has been received.
Include on your application the:
- date you want us to treat you as a group
- name of the representative member of the group
The representative member is responsible for:
- completing and submitting returns
- telling us about any changes to the registration details or premises
The benefits of group treatment
You’ll have a single registration that covers all the members and notified premises within the group. This means that only one duty return and payment is needed for each full accounting period. Therefore, each single return will cover the Gaming Duty liability for all the members within the group. This avoids each company or each set of premises needing to complete individual returns.
The accounting period
An accounting period for the purposes of Gaming Duty means a period of 6 calendar months normally beginning on 1 April and 1 October.
A calendar month, for the purpose of making a return or payment of Gaming Duty, is a period not longer than 31 days following the end of the period shown on form GD95.
Any reference to ‘month’ in this notice, in respect of the Gaming Duty accounting period, means a calendar month.
If you want to apply to operate different accounting periods, contact the Excise helpline. If we agree alternative periods, they’ll still cover a 6 calendar month period, or be the approximate equivalent of 6 months in weeks.
If we cannot agree to your proposed alternative accounting periods, you’ll have to operate the normal accounting periods. Under the Finance Act 1994, you can appeal against our decision.
Returns and duty payment
The law covering duty returns and payment of excise duty
The law provides that detailed rules covering completion of returns are published in this notice as Directions.
As the person registered on the Gaming Duty register, you must make a return and payment for each 6-month accounting period. In the case of a group registration, this will be the representative member.
The Gaming Duty register is a register of people involved in providing dutiable gaming. It is established and maintained by the Commissioners of HMRC.
Completion of Gaming Duty returns
This section has the force of law under paragraph 10(2) of Schedule 1 to the Finance Act 1997 and Regulation 12 of the Gaming Duty Regulations 1997.
The registered gaming provider must make a return to HMRC by the relevant due date. The due date is no later than the last day of the calendar month following the end of the accounting period. HMRC will not treat any return as having been made until the day HMRC receives it.
Sign in to your HMRC account to submit a return at the end of each accounting period, using form GD95.
You must submit returns and payments for accounting periods ending 30 September and 31 March by the following dates.
| GD95 Accounting period |
GD95 Payment due date |
|---|---|
| 1 April to 30 September | 31 October |
| 1 October to 31 March | 30 April |
You must submit returns and payments for accounting periods ending on any other date within one month after the end of the 6-month period. For example, if an accounting period covered 1 February to 31 July, the due dates would be:
- GD95 accounting period — 1 February to 31 July
- GD95 payment due date — 31 August
If you do not follow the rules when making returns and payments, you may receive civil penalties. Read the section ‘the law on Gaming Duty’.
Correct a mistake on your return
HMRC can charge a penalty if either:
- your return or other tax document is inaccurate and as a result you do not pay enough duty
- you do not tell us a duty assessment we have sent to you is too low
Find more information about inaccuracy penalties.
If an error meant that you did not pay enough duty on a previous return, you should make an adjustment on your next return. Make sure you keep sufficient documentation to give a satisfactory audit trail. We may ask you to explain the adjustment.
If you’ve paid too much duty, you’ll need to write to excise and gambling duties to make a claim.
Find more information in Excise Notice 212: statutory interest and repayment of overpaid Excise Duty.
Avoiding penalties
You can avoid a financial penalty by checking that you’ve given complete and accurate information on your return. If you’re aware you’ve made a mistake on your return, tell us as soon as possible. We’ll be able to reduce the penalty, in many cases to zero.
You have the right to appeal if we impose such a penalty.
For further information on penalties, read the Compliance checks factsheets: penalties.
Payment of Gaming Duty
This section has the force of law under section 116(1) of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 1979.
Where the registered gaming provider must make a return to HMRC by the relevant due date, the registered gaming provider must pay any Gaming Duty payable so that it’s received by HMRC no later than the last day of the calendar month following the end of the accounting period shown on each return form.
In any other case the registered gaming provider must pay any Gaming Duty payable on the day following the end of the accounting period.
HMRC will not treat the Gaming Duty payment as having been made until the day it’s received by HMRC.
Who pays the duty
Normally this is the person who makes the return. However, the law provides that the liability to pay Gaming Duty falls jointly and severally on:
- anyone who provides premises at a time when dutiable gaming takes place
- anyone concerned with the organisation or management of the dutiable gaming
- where either of the above is a company and is a member of a group, the other members of the group
- where any of the above are companies, all the directors of that company
How to pay the duty
HMRC accepts payment by a range of methods, but recommends you use one of the following:
- approve a payment through your online bank account
- Bacs direct credit
- internet or phone banking
- CHAPS
For CHAPS, you’ll need to supply your bank or building society with the following details:
- sort code — 08 32 00
- account number — 12000911
- account name — HMRC Gaming Duties
- payment amount
- your Gaming Duty reference number
Direct Debit payment plans can be used to pay amounts up to a maximum of £20 million.
If you’re unable to pay using these options, you should send a cheque with your duty return to HMRC by post. Make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’, followed by your gaming reference number.
Send your return and payment to:
HM Revenue and Customs
Direct
BX5 5BD
United Kingdom
Whatever payment method you use, you must make sure you’ve sufficient funds in your account to satisfy payment.
If you make a payment electronically (without a return or remittance document), make sure that you endorse it with:
- your gaming reference number
- the reason for the payment
Find more information on paying Gaming Duty.
If you do not pay what is due
If you fail to pay any duty due (full or in part), HMRC may order civil proceedings for recovery of the debt. Read the section ‘the law on Gaming Duty’.
In serious cases, we may ask the Gambling Commission to review your operating or premises licences.
We have powers to recover any unpaid amount from:
- any person whether or not entered on the Gaming Duty register, who was a provider of the premises during the accounting period
- any other person concerned in the organisation or management of the gaming on the premises in the accounting period
- where either of the above is a company and is a member of a group, the other members of the group
- where any of the above is a company, any director of that company
We do not normally request security for duty, however we may ask if there’s a risk to the revenue. You’ll be notified of this.
How to work out what Gaming Duty is due
You base it on the gross gaming yield at each premises for the 6-month accounting period using the following bandings and rates (effective from 1 April 2022).
| Part of gross gaming yield | Rate |
|---|---|
| The first £2,686,000 | 15% |
| The next £1,852,000 | 20% |
| The next £3,243,000 | 30% |
| The next £6,845,000 | 40% |
| The remainder | 50% |
Carry forward losses
You can carry forward any losses from a premises in an accounting period, to be offset against profits from the same premises in the following accounting period.
Losses can only be carried forward and offset against profits arising from the same premises from which the losses arose. They cannot be offset against profits from a different premises.
Work out duty liability if you stop trading or the business changes hands during the accounting period
The bands of gross gaming yield for the lower rates of duty must be apportioned according to the number of days trading in the accounting period.
Work out the final liability payment for periods of less than 6 months
Follow these steps to work out the final liability payment for periods of less than 6 months.
Step 1
Count the number of days that your dutiable gaming covered, which must include the first and last day. This is the number of days starting from the first day of the accounting period.
If your dutiable gaming began later than this, start counting the number of days from when your dutiable gaming actually began.
Your period will end with the last day that dutiable gaming took place in the accounting period. Even if gaming continued after the end of the accounting period, your last day cannot extend beyond this point.
Where gaming ceased between midnight and 4am on the last day, treat this as finishing the day before. This gives you the length of dutiable gaming in days.
Step 2
Count the actual number of days in the whole 6-month accounting period.
Step 3
Multiply each band of the gross gaming yield shown in the table on your Gaming Duty Return, by the number of days in step 1.
Step 4
Divide the result for each band in step 3 by the actual number of days in step 2.
No allowance is made for Christmas Day or any other day on which casinos do not trade.
Example of using Steps 1 to 4
The following is an example of calculations used to work out the Gaming Duty payment for a company using the current banding figures.
Company A trades for 2 months from 1 October to 30 November, and has a gross gaming yield (GGY) of £6 million. It uses the final liability payment steps to work out its duty liability for the 2 months trading.
In each case, the duty bands have to be reduced by multiplying the number of days between the first and last days on which dutiable gaming took place, including both the first and last days. You then need to divide this result by the number of days in the whole 6 month accounting period.
The first duty band £2,686,000
£2,686,000 is multiplied by the number of days from 1 October to 30 November, which is 61 days.
£2,686,000 is then divided by 182 which is the number of days for the 6-month period.
£2,686,000 × 61 ÷ 182 = £900,252
£900,252 is then multiplied by the duty rate, which is 15%, and this gives you a duty amount of £135,037.
£900,252 × 15% = £135,037
The next duty band £1,852,000
£1,852,000 is multiplied by the number of days from 1 October to 30 November, which is 61 days.
£1,852,000 is then divided by 182 which is the number of days for the 6 month period.
£1,852,000 × 61 ÷ 182 = £620,725
£620,725 is then multiplied by the duty rate, which is 20%, and this gives you a duty amount of £124,145.
£620,725 × 20% = £124,145
The next duty band £3,243,000
£3,243,000 is multiplied by the number of days from 1 October to 30 November, which is 61 days.
£3,243,000 is then divided by 182, which is the number of days for the 6 month period.
£3,243,000 × 61 ÷ 182 = £1,086,939
£1,086,939 is then multiplied by the duty rate, which is 30%, and this gives you a duty amount of £326,081.
£1,086,939 × 30% = £326,081
The next duty band £6,845,000
£6,845,000 is multiplied by the number of days from 1 October to 30 November, which is 61 days.
£6,845,000 is then divided by 182, which is the number of days for the 6 month period.
£6,845,000 × 61 ÷ 182 = £2,294,203
£2,294,203 is then multiplied by the duty rate, which is 40%, and this gives you a duty amount of £917,681.
£2,294,203 × 40% = £917,681
The remainder above the duty band £6,845,000
The remainder amount above the duty band £6,845,000 will be multiplied by the duty rate which is 50%.
For this example, the gross gaming yield is £6 million minus £900,252 minus £620,725 minus £1,086,939 minus £2,294,203 equals £1,097,881.
£6 million – £900,252 – £620,725 – £1,086,939 – £2,294,203 = £1,097,881
£1,097,881 is multiplied by the duty rate, which is 50%, and this gives you a duty amount of £548,940.
£1,097,881 × 50% = £548,940
Total duty liability for 2 months of trading
Add the duty amounts together to get the total duty liability.
£135,037 + £124,145 + £326,081 + £917,681 + £548,940 = £2,051,884
£2,051,884 is Company A’s duty liability for the 2 months of trading.
Keeping records
Any records that the Gambling Commission ask you to keep under their social legislation will normally be sufficient for our purposes.
You must continue to keep all accounts, records and other documents which you use to complete your returns.
Within the organisation and control of the business, you should have:
- systems which make sure that you meet our official requirements
- procedures which make sure the payments of duty are worked out correctly and paid by the due date
- internal controls and management checks designed to reduce the risk of error and fraud
Find out more information about the maintenance and production of accounts and records in Excise Notice 206: revenue traders’ records or contact excise and gambling duties.
The law on record keeping requirements
Under sections 118A and 118B of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, HMRC have the legal right to see and take copies of any records, accounts or other documents relating to the business. You must keep your records in a readily accessible format and must produce them to us when asked.
The Revenue Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1992 covers all general record keeping requirements for any revenue trader dealing in financial transactions that are liable to excise duty. Regulation 6 gives us the legal power to include in a notice any additional records you must keep.
Where to keep records and for how long
You’ll need to keep all records that relate to (or are used to compile) your Gaming Duty accounts at each casino premises.
The next sentence has the force of law under Regulation 8 of the Revenue Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1992.
The person registered on the Gaming Duty register must preserve all records and accounts for a period of 4 years starting on the day the obligation arises.
Keeping records if your liability for duty changes
If you’re only occasionally liable for duty, you’re only required to keep these records during the time that you’re liable. You must keep records from the start of the accounting period in which you’re liable.
The law on Gaming Duty
The principal law is contained in the Finance Act 1997 and the Gaming Duty Regulations 1997. Gaming in Great Britain is also subject to social law, principally the Gambling Act 2005.
The power to enter and search your premises
The Finance Act 1997 Schedule 2 amends section 118C of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (powers of entry and search). It allows any officer who has reasonable cause to believe that premises are being, have been, or will be used for dutiable gaming, may enter them and inspect any ‘relevant materials’ found on them. Relevant materials include:
- accounts
- records
- other documents and equipment used on the premises in connection with such gaming
Section 118B of Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 also gives officers power to reasonably require information and production of documents, which includes taking copies or extracts.
Laws that may attract civil penalties
We may apply civil penalties under the following laws:
- section 9 of the Finance Act 1994 (civil penalties)
- Customs and Excise Management Act 1979
- section 116(3) — failure to pay duty payable following a demand made by the Commissioners (see directions made under section 116(1) Customs and Excise Management Act 1979)
- section 118G — failure to comply with record keeping and production requirements and in particular failure to keep the records specified under regulation 6 of the Revenue Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1992
- Finance Act 1997
- section 12(5) — failure to pay duty that is due
- schedule 1, paragraph 5(3) — penalties in connection with registration
- schedule 1, paragraph 7 — failures in connection with the notification of premises or facts relating to notification
- schedule 1, paragraph 10(3) — failure to comply with directions given as to the making of returns (see schedule 1, paragraph 10(2) directions)
- schedule 1, paragraph 11(3) — failure to comply with regulations (see ‘The Gaming Duty Regulations 1997’ and ‘The Gaming Duty (Amendment) Regulations 2017’)
Overlap with Social Regulatory Law
Gaming Duty legislation determines the duty treatment. Gambling duties are classified as self-assessed taxes, meaning it is your responsibility to work out, notify and pay any duty due.
The social regulator for gambling is the:
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in Great Britain
- Department for Communities in Northern Ireland
In certain circumstances, if HMRC give a ruling, you can rely on that ruling even if it’s later shown to be wrong. You cannot rely on an opinion or any guidance written by the social regulator, even if the opinion relates to an identical piece of legislation.
If you have queries about Gaming Duty, you can read more information about:
You can also contact excise and gambling duties.
Reviews and appeals
The review and appeals provisions are in sections 14 to 16 of the Finance Act 1994 and apply to Gaming Duty. They let you appeal against our decisions, such as:
- directing how we treat gaming within parts of the same or different premises
- the amount of an assessment
- issuing a civil penalty
- refusing an agreement for non-standard accounting periods
- refusing an application for group registration
How to appeal against a decision made by HMRC
When HMRC gives you a decision, you’ll be told the reason for the decision and what you need to do if you disagree.
Within 30 days you can:
- send new information or arguments to the officer you’ve been dealing with
- have your case reviewed by a different officer
- have your case heard by an independent tribunal
A different officer from the one who made the decision will handle your review.
If you prefer to have an independent tribunal hear your case, you must write directly to the Tribunals Service. You need to send your appeal to the Tribunals Service within 30 days from the date on the decision letter.
Time limits to ask for a review
You must write to the person who sent you the decision letter within 30 days of the date on the letter. We’ll complete our review within 45 days (unless we agree another time with you).
Unless you go directly to the Tribunal Service before asking for a review, you cannot ask the tribunal to hear your case until the 45 days (or the time we agreed with you) has expired, or until we’ve told you the outcome.
If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you have 30 days from the date on the new decision letter to ask the tribunal to hear your case.
If we cannot complete our review within 45 days (or the time we agreed with you), we’ll ask if you’re willing to agree to an extension. If you do not agree to an extension, the review is treated as one where the decision being reviewed is upheld.
We’ll write and tell you this. You then have 30 days from the date of that letter to ask the tribunal to hear your case.
What to include in a request for review
Your request should clearly set out:
- the full details of your case
- the reasons why you disagree with us
- any supporting documentation
- what result you expect from our review
If you do not want a review
You may appeal to the independent tribunal. You need to send your appeal to the Tribunals Service within 30 days of the date on the decision letter.
Read more information about reviews and appeals.
You may also contact excise and gambling duties.
VAT
Providing facilities for betting or playing games of chance is normally exempt from VAT, but there are some important exceptions.
Find out more about VAT and betting.
Find out more information about VAT liability of commissions and expenses.
Your rights and obligations
Read the HMRC Charter to find out what you can expect from HMRC and what we expect from you.
Help us improve this notice
If you have any feedback about this notice, you can contact excise and gambling duties enquiries.
You’ll need to include the full title of this notice. Do not include any personal or financial information like your VAT number.
Putting things right
If you’re unhappy with HMRC’s service, contact the person or office you’ve been dealing with and they’ll try to put things right.
If you’re still unhappy, find out how to complain to HMRC.
How HMRC uses your information
Find out how HMRC uses the information we hold about you.
Updates to this page
Last updated 30 April 2024 + show all updates
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Information on where to send your enquiries has been updated.
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Information about HMRC sending a notice to file to tell you when your return is due has been removed from the 'Completion of Gaming Duty returns' section as it was previously included in error.
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Updated the figures for gross gaming yields and the example in the 'How to work out what Gaming Duty is due' section.
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You can now pay Gaming Duty using online bank account payments.
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Updated the figures for gross gaming yields in the 'How to work out what Gaming Duty is due' section.
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First published.