Guidance

Remote Gaming Duty

Find out if you should pay Remote Gaming Duty if you provide facilities for remote gaming from the UK, how to register and how to pay.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
14 August 2014

This guidance was withdrawn on

This detailed guidance was originally archived on 17 March 2015.

This guidance has been superseded by the General Betting Duty, Pool Betting Duty and Remote Gaming Duty guide.

Overview

Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) rules are changing from 1 December 2014. Find out how the new rules will affect you.

If you provide facilities for playing games of chance for prizes through remote communication, you’ll need to register and pay RGD on your profits. Remote communication includes:

  • the telephone
  • internet
  • interactive TV

Rate

RGD is charged at 15% of your profits.

Your profits are the amounts due to you as stakes or for use of facilities you provide for remote gaming, less amounts paid out as winnings.

Register

If you’re liable to pay RGD you’ll need to register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

You should complete form GD120 Application for registration - Remote Gaming Duty and return it to HMRC. You must send the form no later than 14 days before you start to provide remote gaming.

Returns and payments

HMRC will send you form GD121 Remote Gaming Duty Return for each 3 month accounting period. You should complete and send your return with your payment of RGD, so that HMRC receive it no later than the 30th day after the end of the accounting period.

If the 30th day falls on a weekend or public holiday, your return and payment must arrive on the previous working day.

If you haven’t carried out any RGD activities in your return period, you must still complete and send a nil return.

Changes to your details

You must tell HMRC within 2 weeks about any changes to the details you gave on your application for registration. This includes:

  • the trading name of your business
  • the address and phone number of your principal place of business
  • if you are a partnership, any changes to the membership (including the name of any new member)
  • if you stop providing gaming

You’ll need to make a new application for registration if the legal status of your business changes.

Penalties

You might be charged a penalty if don’t meet your obligations regarding RGD, for example if:

  • you don’t give accurate information in your return
  • you fail to tell HMRC of any business changes at the right time

Find out more about penalties you may have to pay HMRC.

If you’ve been given a penalty and you think it’s wrong, you can appeal to HMRC.

Record keeping

You must keep records to show that you are accounting for and paying any RGD that you need to. There are no rules covering the format of your records but you must let HMRC review them when they ask.

VAT

Providing facilities for betting or playing games of chance is normally exempt from VAT, but there are some important exceptions.

Find out more about VAT and gaming in Notice 701/29 betting, gaming and lotteries.

Published 14 August 2014
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