[MillDunneGood]

Just an observation from someone who wished this applied to them. But do Professional gamblers have to pay tax in the U.K.? You've probably heard this a thousand times.

[shaunovery]

Short answer is no


Short Versions: Do I have to pay taxed online gambling winnings? If you live in the UK then no you most certainly do not.

One thing that often confuses both new punters and experienced gamblers alike is whether tax needs to be paid on any winnings from bets placed online. We know that the chances are you probably wouldn’t pay taxes on online winnings whatever the answer to this question is, but we thought we’d take the chance to answer the question anyway.

Before we go on though, we should say that this is specifically targeted towards a British audience – if you are from a different country, have a look on our pages about betting with specific currencies and you’ll find the answer you’re looking for. These pages can be found in the currency section of our website.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes On Gambling Winnings?
You’ll be very glad to hear that you don’t have to pay taxes on any winnings from your online gambling endeavours, so you are free to spend all of your winnings in whatever way you want to. This is for one simple reason: most bets that are placed are not winners, so if the government taxed winning bets, they would have to provide tax relief for all of those losing bets as well. This would be a rather unprofitable path for the government to follow…

The other reason why there is no taxation on winnings is simply because it would be so hard to enforce – can you really see the government chasing someone who just won £100 and making sure they paid their fair share? The money spent chasing it would surely be more than the actual money received back, wouldn’t it?

What About Professional Gamblers?
You would imagine that professional gamblers have to pay taxes on their winnings, but this is not the case. This is because the government can’t discriminate between occasional gamblers and those gambling every single day. Of course, this rule might change in the future, but if it does we will be the first to let you know.

You might hear about some professional gamblers who complain about the amount of tax they pay, but this is misleading. This is because they might be paying tax in a different country if they are foreign, or they might be paying tax for television appearances or promotional work – poker players do a lot of this. So, there is never any need to pay taxes on gambling winnings in the United Kingdom, regardless of how much money you manage to win.

If you’re a professional gambler and you’re wondering ‘Do I have to pay taxes on online gambling winnings?’ then consult your account if you’re still worried.

Who Does Get Taxed?
Although the government doesn’t tax the punter, they do still make money from gambling, and this is because they tax the online bookmaker instead. At first glance, this might seem really good for the punter, but this is not necessarily the case. This is because the bookmakers have to pass their costs onto the public, meaning that you pay indirectly through slightly worse odds than you would otherwise get.

So, the tax system in the UK will end up biting you at some point in the process, even if you don’t know that it is happening.

[MillDunneGood]

Thanks for the informative reply, it's great picking expert gambler's brains. Thanks alot

[Foxx]

I wish the USA was like this.

[IBetYou]

Worth noting that most (all?) sportsbooks have in their T&Cs that their service is for the recreational gambler so if you're betting as a pro you're violating the T&Cs. Of course they don't enforce this though.

[IBetYou]

what am i saying? definitely not all -most

[xtrader]

Worth noting that most (all?) sportsbooks have in their T&Cs that their service is for the recreational gambler so if you're betting as a pro you're violating the T&Cs. Of course they don't enforce this though.

They usually have such terms only for bonuses and other promotions though some books might have terms against arbitrage , syndicate betting(whatever that may be), irregular betting patterns etc. All these terms are vague and serious books don't enforce them.

[xtrader]

Not only there are is no income tax for UK gamblers but you aren't breaking any law either even if you bet at unregulated sites. Not the case with other EU countries.

[Onn]

What is this tax you talk about We pay nothing.