The UK Upper Tribunal has reduced a £13.2m Remote Gaming Duty bill issued to Jumpman Gaming by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to nothing, ruling that winnings from promotional free spins are exempt from the duty when they are wagered again.
The ruling
The decision came in the week before October 5, 2026 in the company’s appeal against the assessment, which covered July 2018 to December 2022 and centred on Mega Reel, Jumpman Gaming’s promotional free spins product. The Guernsey company, which mainly provides slots, objected to Mega Reel’s inclusion in the bill after HMRC assessed it.
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) had sided with HMRC in September 2025. The Upper Tribunal reversed two of the FTT’s decisions, finding that the lower tribunal erred by excluding 2016 pre-legislative consultation materials from consideration and by interpreting the phrase “the gaming” in the law too restrictively.
The tribunal held that money wagered as a result of free spins won through an initial promotional free spin should be exempted from Remote Gaming Duty (RGD). HMRC had argued that “the gaming” referred only to games where an operator has waived the usual cost of participation, such as depositing and staking, while Jumpman Gaming argued it covered gambling generally, including Mega Reel.
What it means at 40%
The ruling lands weeks after RGD rose from 21% to 40% in April 2026, a change the industry opposed, and at a time when taxation is one of the biggest topics on the minds of iGaming executives and finance teams. The exemption turns on promotional mechanics that appear in most UK online casino marketing, so the reasoning could shape how other operators treat re-wagered promotional funds in their filings.
HMRC retains the right of appeal against the ruling, so the £13.2m reduction stands only until any further challenge is decided.
When he is not analysing the latest compliance updates or dissecting quarterly operator results, Florian follows Bundesliga football closely and maintains a healthy skepticism toward anyone claiming to have cracked a winning betting system. He brings a grounded, insider-aware perspective to his writing and is always more interested in the structural story behind the headline than the headline itself.