How the UK’s gambling tax hike is hurting B2B suppliers

The UK’s online gambling market entered a new commercial reality after Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) doubled from 21% to 40% in April. The increase, announced in the 2025 autumn budget, represents the largest single tax increase for online gambling in the UK’s history.  

For operators, the implications are obvious. Margins are under pressure, promotional economics are being reassessed, and some businesses are reconsidering their position in the UK market. Two operators have already withdrawn, while larger groups have reported projected additional costs running into nine figures.

But there is another group facing a significant strategic challenge as a result of the change: B2B gaming suppliers. The issue isn’t simply that operators have less money to spend. It is that the criteria by which they decide where to spend it are changing and that should force suppliers to rethink how they market themselves. 

B2B gambing supplier relationship being recalculated

When operator economics were more favourable, suppliers could often sell on the basis of innovation, product capability and competitive features. A better platform, more games, new functionality, improved analytics, greater personalisation, more engaging content. Those things still matter. 

But when a significant proportion of an operator’s margin disappears, the question becomes much harder: “What commercial value will this actually create for us?” 

Operators are already looking at where they can reduce costs and improve efficiency. Industry analysis points to changes in promotional spend, affiliate commissions, product mix and other areas of the operating model. That inevitably affects suppliers. 

Existing supplier relationships will be reviewed, new investments will face greater scrutiny and procurement conversations will become more commercially focused. Projects that previously looked attractive because they represented innovation may now struggle to secure budget if the connection to measurable business outcomes isn’t clear. 

For B2B gambing suppliers, “we have a great product” is becoming a much weaker proposition. 

From innovation to commercial value 

For years, innovation has been one of the industry’s favourite marketing words. Innovation in platforms, innovation in content, innovation in AI, innovation in CRM, innovation in payments. But innovation only has value if it solves a commercially important problem. 

Under greater margin pressure, operators are likely to ask much more difficult questions: 

• Will this increase player lifetime value?  

• Will it reduce churn?  

• Will it improve acquisition efficiency?  

• Will it increase conversion?  

• Will it reduce operational costs?  

• Will it improve retention?  

• How quickly will we see a return?  

• What happens if we don’t make the investment?  

This doesn’t mean suppliers need to abandon innovation, it means they need to connect innovation to outcomes. The strongest gaming suppliers will increasingly move from communicating what their product does to demonstrating what their product does for the operator’s business. That is a significant shift in marketing strategy. 

The ROI story matters more 

One of the consequences of tighter operator economics is that the marketing job becomes harder. A product marketer might previously have been able to communicate functionality and differentiation and leave the commercial team to build the business case. That is becoming increasingly difficult. 

B2B marketers now need to understand the operator’s economics deeply enough to articulate the financial and commercial implications of their proposition. A CRM solution shouldn’t simply be positioned around its personalisation capabilities. It should demonstrate how those capabilities can improve retention or lifetime value. 

A payments solution shouldn’t simply talk about functionality; it needs to demonstrate how it can reduce friction, improve conversion or lower costs. A content supplier shouldn’t simply talk about game mechanics; it needs to explain how its content can contribute to engagement, retention or revenue. 

The product story needs to become the commercial story. 

That requires marketers to have a much stronger understanding of strategy, customer economics, positioning, value propositions and commercial storytelling. 

Operators becoming more selective with B2B partners 

The UK’s 40% RGD increase isn’t happening in isolation. Operators are simultaneously dealing with tighter promotional rules, including the 10x wagering cap and restrictions on mixed-product promotions. The combined effect is forcing businesses to reassess how they acquire and retain customers. That makes supplier selection more important. 

When budgets tighten, operators don’t necessarily stop investing. Instead, they become more selective about where investment creates the greatest return. That creates an interesting opportunity for suppliers. 

The suppliers most at risk may not be those with the most expensive products. They may be those that cannot clearly articulate why an operator should continue investing in them. Conversely, suppliers that can demonstrate measurable impact can become more valuable. 

The conversation changes from “Why should you buy our solution?” to “Why is investing in our solution commercially important in the current environment?”. That is a much more strategic marketing challenge. 

The rise of the commercial growth partner 

This could ultimately change how B2B gaming suppliers position themselves. Operators don’t simply need technology vendors; they need partners that understand the pressures facing their business and can help them navigate them. That means suppliers increasingly need to position around the business problem, rather than the product. 

Instead of “Our AI-powered platform gives operators X, Y and Z”, the conversation becomes “We help operators improve retention and lifetime value in a market where acquiring every new customer is becoming more expensive.” 

Instead of “Our technology provides advanced personalisation”, it becomes “We help operators use customer data more effectively to improve engagement and reduce churn.” The difference might appear subtle. Strategically, it is enormous. 

This is also a marketing capability challenge 

There is an important implication here for B2B gaming companies themselves. Many marketing teams have become highly effective at execution: events, campaigns, social media, content, email, lead generation and product launches. But the current environment demands something more. Marketers need to understand the commercial strategy behind the activity. They need to be able to answer: 

• Who exactly are we targeting? 

• What problem are we solving for them? 

• Why does that problem matter commercially? 

• Why are we better placed to solve it than the alternatives? 

• What evidence can we provide? 

• How do we communicate our value in terms that matter to the buyer? 

This is the difference between marketing activity and strategic marketing capability. As operators become more commercially demanding, that difference will become increasingly visible. 

New opportunities for B2B gaming suppliers 

The 40% RGD increase undoubtedly creates pressure, but pressure also creates opportunity. Some operators will cut spending; others will restructure their supplier relationships.

Some will withdraw from the UK; others will use the disruption to take market share from competitors that retreat. Recent analysis suggests the market is already beginning to separate between defensive operators cutting back and more strategic operators looking to exploit the changing competitive landscape.  

For suppliers, that means there will still be investment, but the bar for winning it is likely to rise. The winners won’t necessarily be the companies with the most impressive technology or the biggest marketing budgets. They will increasingly be the companies that can demonstrate relevance, articulate value and connect their proposition directly to the commercial priorities of their customers. 

That requires more than better campaigns, it requires better positioning, better customer insight, better value propositions, better commercial storytelling and marketers who understand how their activity contributes to the wider business strategy. 

The new marketing challenge 

 Ultimately, the UK’s gambling tax hike is raising the standard that B2B gaming suppliers need to meet when communicating their value. 

The days of selling innovation for innovation’s sake are becoming harder to sustain. In a more commercially demanding market, suppliers need to show why they matter, what problems they solve and what business outcomes they can deliver. 

For B2B gaming marketers, that means developing a broader skill set. Not just campaign execution, not just content, not just events, but strategy, positioning, customer insight, value proposition development, commercial storytelling and the ability to connect marketing to revenue. 

The 40% tax may be an operator problem, but the resulting shift in buying behaviour is a marketing challenge for the entire B2B gaming ecosystem. The suppliers that recognise that shift and equip their marketing teams accordingly may be the ones best placed to win in the new market.

Edge Marketing Institute develops marketing leaders in the betting and gaming industry. Founded by Paul Rees and Gerhard Sagat, it helps senior marketing and commercial leaders strengthen marketing’s contribution to business growth through strategic marketing consultancy and practical leadership development programmes, including its flagship G.A.M.E. (Gaming Advancement in Marketing Excellence) programme.

You can read their previous column on the importance of brand here.