Latest on the Review of Betting Levy Audit Rules in Britain

The Horserace Betting Levy Board, which manages the levy on horse racing bets in Britain, plans to reduce the operating and audit costs for small and mid-sized betting companies. The Board launched a consultation on this on 25 August. The consultation will close on 26 October.

The focus of the consultation is the threshold for submitting a full independent accountant's report confirming the taxable profit that betting companies earn from British racing markets. Under the current arrangement, small operators with annual taxable profit between 250 thousand and 500 thousand pounds must submit this report, paying up to 2 thousand pounds each. The Board said there were 18 operators in this band in the 2025/26 period, with 16 more operators on either side of the band.

The Board is considering narrowing the reporting band so that fewer companies bear this cost. However, no new threshold value or implementation date has been set. The change is aimed at the problem of companies that do not have to pay the levy still having to pay for verification every year.

According to the published guidance, a levy of 10 percent is charged on profit above 500 thousand pounds from British horse racing betting. However, the threshold for submitting the report is 250 thousand pounds. These figures refer to the profit from the relevant betting activity, not the total amount of bets accepted or the companies' overall earnings.

Meanwhile, in March 2026 the Labour government in Britain announced that the levy would remain at 10 percent for profits above 500 thousand pounds. The government rejected a proposal to extend the levy to bets on matches held overseas. Renegotiation of the racing levy had been removed from the Gambling Reform scope during the previous Conservative government. The Department said that after the Remote Gaming Duty was raised from 20 percent to 40 percent, the tax system needed stability.