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BGC Urges UK Chancellor to Drop the Proposed New Gambling Tax Simplification Measure

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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has urged the UK Chancellor against using a proposed new gambling tax simplification measure to further raise taxes which will threaten sports including horse racing.

In the Autumn Statement, the Government confirmed it will consult on new proposals to bring remote betting into a single tax, replacing the current three-tax structure.

General betting duty and pool betting duty are set at 15% of operator profits, but remote gaming duty, levied on games of chance such as online casino, is set at 21%.

Any hike in betting duty would likely lead to lower margins on racing, fewer offers for punters and less funding to sponsor and promote the sport.

The tax threat comes as revenues are already being stretched by so-called affordability checks on customers, plans to replace the current voluntary levy with a new statutory levy to fund Research, Education and Treatment to tackle gambling related harm and spiraling costs for betting operators to support horse racing.

Michael Dugher, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “Any further new tax rises could be a hammer blow for horse racing’s finances, which are already threatened thanks to measures proposed by the Government in the recent white paper.

“This is a sport which relies heavily on betting operators for its success and yet the Government appears determined to draft in measures which shrink the industry with huge ramifications for other sectors, like horse racing.

“What’s worse, the Treasury didn’t bother to consult or even inform DCMS, which is the department responsible for betting and racing. It seems they are high on tax but low on joined up government.

“There are genuine fears that any so-called simplification of the current tax structure will be nothing more than a Trojan Horse to further raise taxes on businesses.

“This has the potential to risk jobs and investment, and undermine the competitiveness of British horse racing on the global stage, placing its rich history and heritage in peril.

“We were promised an Autumn Statement that would deliver growth – the only thing growing is the list of worries for the betting and horse racing industries”.

The proposed new tax simplification plan comes soon after the Government’s White Paper, published in April, which included measures that will cost online operators in excess of £895m in Gross Gambling Yield.

And comes as bookmakers are preparing to make a record contribution to horse racing next year – with the bill for media rights forecast to increase by nearly £30m.

The Betting and Gaming Council’s five biggest members for horse race betting, Entain, Flutter, bet365, 888/William Hill and Betfred, expect to see a record cost increase to broadcast races.

In 2022, BGC members paid £270.1m for the rights to live stream races for customers and show them in bookmakers.

But that cost is forecast to rise to £285.3m this year, an increase of 5.6%, with members estimating a further increase to £315.2m in 2024, a further bump of 10.5%.

The forecast costs come after the BGC announced their members directly contributed £384m to British horse racing last year in levy, media rights and sponsorship deals.

In addition, bookmakers spent £125m on marketing to promote racing and betting through advertisements and partnerships.

Horse racing is the second biggest sport in the UK, second only to football, with more than five million people attending around 1400 fixtures annually across 59 racecourses.

However, its popularity is in decline. In 2007, 17% of the population participated in horse race betting in the previous year, but that fell to 10% in 2018.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has committed to reviewing the Horseracing Levy by next year.

The Horseracing Levy, which is administered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, goes towards improving the sport, breeding and boosting veterinary care.

Betting operators are working closely with the British Horseracing Authority and racing stakeholders on much needed reforms to the fixture list and race programme which should increase commercial returns from the levy and media rights.

Betting shops support 42,000 jobs on the UK’s hard-pressed high streets, generating £800 million a year in tax to the Treasury and another £60m in business rates to local councils.

But this contribution is under threat, the combined impacts of recent regulatory reforms and Covid lockdowns have forced the closure of over 2000 shops with the loss of 10,000 jobs since 2019.

The wider regulated betting and gaming industry contributes £7.1bn to the economy, generates £4.2bn in tax and supports 110,000 jobs.

The BGC has repeatedly warned changes to the regulated betting and gaming sector by the Government must not risk forcing customer to the unsafe gambling black market online.

A study by PWC showed the number of customers using an unlicensed betting website has grown from 210,000 to 460,000 and billions is being staked.

Each month in Great Britain around 22.5m adults have a bet and the most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4% of the adult population are problem gamblers.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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Steer Studios Joins Make-A-Wish® International’s Infinite Wishes Initiative

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– Steer Studios joins Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and 2K in supporting Make-A-Wish International’s mission to unite the global games industry for good. –

Make-A-Wish® International, the world’s leading wish-granting organization, has today announced that Riyadh-based Steer Studios, part of Savvy Games Group, has joined the organization’s Infinite Wishes Initiative, offering valuable support to help make a difference.

The funds were raised through Steer Studios first mobile title, Grunt Rush. By collecting stars during gameplay, the player community unlocked the donation, helping to grant life-changing wishes to children living with critical illnesses.

Launched in August 2025, Infinite Wishes is a global programme built to unite the video games industry. It was created in response to a growing number of gaming-related wishes from children around the world.

Steer Studios joins a growing list of partners and advisors including Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and 2K, helping shape how the games industry can make a tangible, positive impact for children who need it most.

In 2024, the Make-A-Wish International network granted more than 16,000 wishes for children living with critical illnesses.

The post Steer Studios Joins Make-A-Wish® International’s Infinite Wishes Initiative appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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New GoldenRace game, RaceDay, allows players to simultaneously place bets in several races

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GoldenRace, leading provider of award-winning Virtual Sports and betting solutions, is always reinventing its products so operators can increase their winnings and players can obtain a better betting experience.

Set to transform the way your players engage with Virtual Sports, GoldenRace’s brand-new multi-race product for Retail and Mobile, RaceDay, allows them to bet on up to six races of your choice, simultaneously, offering higher odds and increased betting volume.

Operators can select their favourites from GoldenRace’s top-quality races: Horses (in different formats with 6, 8, 10 or 12 competitors) and Greyhounds – two of GoldenRace’s more successful products- Motorbikes, Karts and Trotting. They decide which ones and how many, giving players the power to bet across all those races at once.

RaceDay highlights

  • More bets: Players can now bet on up to six races concurrently, maximising their opportunities and increasing betting volume on your platform.
  • New RaceDay market: With combination bets across different competitions in one view. This innovative market helps boost the odds and leads to more significant wins for players.
  • Stronger player growth: Higher payouts and an exhilarating experience attract more players, driving sustained growth.
  • Increased appeal: RaceDay delivers premium user experience with live video, real-time scores, upcoming events and a unique, customisable design.
  • Anywhere reliability: Thanks to low-bandwidth optimisation, RaceDay offers seamless performance and reliability on both Mobile and Retail platforms, ensuring players can “Race it all!” wherever they are.

With real-time video, live scores, upcoming events, customisable design and low-bandwidth optimisation, RaceDay blends pure adrenaline with the best user experience to unlock higher odds, bigger wins and more bets on worldwide operators platforms.

 

The post New GoldenRace game, RaceDay, allows players to simultaneously place bets in several races appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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QTech Games adds more creative content from BEON

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QTech Games, the leading game aggregator across all emerging markets, has continued to maintain the momentum in its premium pipeline, as evidenced by its latest deal with BEON, an emerging force in the slots space, whose first raft of games is crash games-focussed.

Integrating a progressive portfolio from one of the most productive and innovative developers in the sector adds more muscle to QTech Games’ proprietary platform, which is leading the way across growth markets like LatAm and Africa. In a progressive production line that will span different slots genres, BEON is also committed to launching games tailored to specific partner requests, while simultaneously growing its portfolio with a new wave of titles in development.

As a result BEON is building a reputation for creating high-quality, immersive games with standout features that set them apart in any igaming domain, thanks to a smooth performance running off agile mechanics which are dedicated to gameplay precision and optimal retention. Its first five games to be released comprise Skydot, Fury Flight, Redy, Nomad and Orizon, while BEON’s unique Crash Game Generator tool allows operator partners to launch customised content inside 24 hours.

This collaboration delivers a targeted range of localized content, enabling QTech Games to continue to meet the varied preferences of players across emerging markets, while supporting both companies’ ambitions for global growth.

Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “BEON’s initial rollout of eye-catching crash games is premised on clever mechanics, easily intelligible gameplay, high payouts and colourful graphics, which are breaking up an often-copycat environment. This kind of content is well-suited to LatAm and African markets, which directly tracks our ongoing expansion throughout these territories. These games are robust, scalable, and future-ready – so, we look forward to seeing what’s next. ”

Saba Chkheidze, Managing Partner at BEON, added: “Partnering with QTech Games constitutes the perfect opportunity for us to bolster our product distribution across emerging markets and deliver our fantastic crash games to more and more top-tier operators.

“It’s a collaboration which marks a step-change in BEON’s growth strategy across untapped markets like Latin America and Africa, where we hope our games will connect with many new players. Aside from crash games, our roadmap is packed with fresh concepts and slots titles that aim to combine engaging gameplay with solid technical performance, ensuring that our partners and players always have something new to look forward to.”

The post QTech Games adds more creative content from BEON appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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