The UK gaming Commission has made it clear how much each licensee will have to pay for the new legal tax. The government anticipates that this tax will raise £100 million (€115.3 million/$130.7 million) to help stop people from becoming hurt by gaming.
 mandatory tax
 The UK mandatory levy started on April 6. It was part of the previous government's Gambling Act white paper in 2023. The idea was that operators weren't paying enough to help with gambling hazards under the voluntary levy.

 Baroness Twycross, the gambling minister, told the Betting & Gaming Council's (BGC) annual general meeting in February that the new UK statutory tax was a "huge step forward" for the gaming industry and that it will help cut down on problem gambling.

 On Monday, April 7, the gaming Commission gave an update on the levy. It included the rates that each licence holder will have to pay. Online gaming will normally have to pay the highest rate.

 How was the legal tax worked out?
 The Gambling Commission also talked about how they came up with the rates for the legal tax.

 The rate is based on the gross gambling yield (GGY) and the money left over after paying for good causes and prizes, as well as the gross value of sales or any other amounts that are related to activities that are allowed by the licence.

 The final amount for the levy will be based on the information that licensees give through Regulatory Returns. Companies must make sure that this information is correct.  Any wrong information will change the final amount owed in the levy.

 What's next?
 Harris Hagan, a law company that works with businesses, said that licensees can't pay the money from the levy until they get their bill. The first bills will be handed out on September 1.  You will need to make the payment by or before October 1.

 Starting on September 1, the levy will be billed once a year. This will cover the 12 months from the start of the tax year on April 1.

 If licensees don't pay the tax, they can lose their licenses.

 Worries about the legal tax
 A group of experts who study the hazards of gambling talked about their worries about how the industry would affect research that will be paid for by the levy earlier this month.

 The panel said that researchers had been hesitant to take money from the sector in the past because they were worried about how the sector might affect the study.

 Sam Chamberlain, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Southampton, told the health and social care committee of parliament, "In my opinion, there hasn't been enough good quality research in the last few decades because many of the best researchers in the field of gambling would not have taken that money because of ethical and other concerns." 

 "From a practical point of view, the industry has been contributing money to one big charity, which has been giving that money to several groups.  But I'm not suggesting that all of that work is wrong.