UK gambling stocks rebound after mixed outcome on tax rises

By Pushkala Aripaka and Yamini Kalia

(Reuters) -Shares in some British betting and gaming firms rebounded late on Wednesday after initial fears over increased gambling duties eased, though top firms are facing hundreds of millions of pounds in extra taxes.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves' latest annual budget was focused on higher taxes for online gaming rather than retail gambling, citing concerns associated with the former.

"I will reform gambling taxes in response to the rise in online gambling. Remote gaming is associated with the highest levels of harm," she said, raising remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% and online sports betting levies from 15% to 25%.

The changes hit online casinos and bookmakers including Ladbrokes owner Entain, William Hill UK and 888 owner Evoke and Flutter, the world's largest online betting firm.

Berenberg estimates a 2026 burden of about 500 million pounds ($661.3 million) for Flutter and 136 million pounds for smaller Evoke. Meanwhile, Entain said it expects about 200 million pounds in additional costs.

However, overall measures were "only a little worse than expected," J.P. Morgan analysts said.

ONLINE GAMING PUNISHED

Gambling stocks initially fell after the fiscal watchdog published budget details unexpectedly early.

Entain and Flutter stocks turned positive and closed trading 3.4% and 2.5% higher, respectively, helped by their U.S. presence and large retail operations. Flutter has also said its scale would help mitigate any impact.

Evoke shares fell 18.3%. With the UK making up two-thirds of its 2024 revenue, the company withdrew its medium-term guidance after the tax changes.

Reeves' taxes were less punitive for physical gambling, with levies on retail betting and horse racing punts unchanged and bingo duty to be scrapped from April.

Playtech, which provides content and platform services to other businesses, ended 5.8% higher.

Rank Group, which is heavily geared towards casinos and bingo halls and estimated to suffer a hit of 40 million pounds, closed up 10%.

ILLICIT GAMBLING

Many stakeholders have warned that a tax rise for a sector already paying billions in levies every year would stack up costs, and drive punters to unregulated black markets, while threatening jobs and investments and leading to consolidation among smaller players.

Online mobile gaming content provider Gaming Realms' CEO Mark Segal told Reuters he could consider hiring more outside the UK, which accounts for about 30% of the company's business.

Berenberg analysts said tax rises could also prompt companies to cut expenses such as marketing to bolster margins.

Calls for higher taxes on the gambling sector have been made for several years, as part of efforts to tackle addiction and enforce tighter regulation.

"The government's budget is a massive win for the incredibly harmful, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market," a spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council said.

($1 = 0.7561 pounds)

(Reporting by Andy Bruce and Sarah Young in London, Pushkala Aripaka and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru, Editing by Toby Chopra, Josephine Mason and Gareth Jones)