Paddy Power and Betfair boss says the UK black market is the bigger worry after the tax rise
At the SBC Summit in Lisbon, the managing director of Paddy Power and Betfair said Flutter expects a £500 million impact from next year after the UK remote gaming duty rose from 21% to 40%. He warned that a growing black market is a bigger risk than lost market share.
This is a UK story, but South African players live with the situation it describes: most online casinos open to them are offshore and not licensed in South Africa. The report shows how unlicensed sites can be found easily, can accept underage and fake accounts, and can be hard to withdraw from. Those are the risks to weigh before you deposit anywhere. It does not say anything about any specific casino we list, and our reviews carry only what we have been able to verify.
What happened
iGaming Business reported on a panel at the SBC Summit in Lisbon about the UK remote gaming duty, which rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026. Richard Clarke, managing director of Flutter brands Paddy Power and Betfair, said the group expects a £500 million impact from next year, with some of it already showing this year. He expects Flutter to gain share as smaller rivals struggle, but said that would be no cause for celebration if unlicensed gambling grows faster than the regulated market.
The detail
The report adds that the tax has squeezed margins across the sector. Entain has announced plans to cut about 400 customer care roles across 11 countries, roughly a fifth of that workforce, after an earlier round of 500 corporate, product and technology cuts. The article says Evoke and Bet365 have also made job cuts or branch closures.
- Clarke said some regulatory and tax costs do not scale down, so they weigh more on small operators.
- He named three conditions for the regulated market to keep winning: better customer protection, proportionate regulation and real action against unlicensed operators.
- He said talks with the Gambling Commission now have "a different tone from the past", and that Flutter employs 550 people full time on safer gambling.
The article also describes research commissioned by Flutter UK and Ireland and first reported by the Racing Post. A counter-fraud adviser tested unlicensed sites for two weeks, found them through app stores, social media and search without a VPN, opened accounts using fake and underage identities, and struggled to withdraw after losing money. These are claims from research paid for by an operator, so read them with that in mind.
What it means for South African players
The licensing system is different here, but the lesson carries over. Offshore sites that accept South African players are not licensed by a South African regulator, so you have no local complaint route if something goes wrong. Before depositing, look for the operator's licence details on its own site, check how withdrawals work and read the terms. Where we have not verified a casino's licence, payouts or bonus terms, our review pages say so and link to the details we have.
Remember that gambling carries a real risk of loss and is not a way to make money. If it stops being fun, support is available through the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation.
What to watch next
Watch how Flutter and other large UK operators respond over the coming months, and whether the Gambling Commission and payment regulators step up against unlicensed sites. The UK Budget is also due this month, and the machine games duty is a live topic there. See our related report on that proposal.