Entertainment

Government overreach or necessary Reform? The UK gambling tax divide

Published

9 months ago

September 9, 2025

The UK Gambling Commission has recently released its Q1 2025-26 figures. This release covers activity through June 2025 and has landed in the middle of a heated tax and regulation row. Many are looking at this report to see where money is flowing. From the report, we can see that digital play continues to dominate, which has led to many policy questions for ministers.

The most prominent question is how the government can protect consumers without throttling a sector that supports jobs and tax receipts. Although it might seem like an abstract debate to some, the conditions around these policies affect everyday choices on stake limits, product design, and, ultimately, how operators interact with customers.

As expected, online revenue led the pack. In the report, online gross gaming yield was £1.49 billion for the quarter, which was 2% higher than in Q1 2024-25. Year on year, bets and spins climbed to 26.1 million. This was even as average monthly active accounts decreased by 10% to 12.7 billion. According to Viola D’Elia, this decrease in active accounts could be due to the increased governance over online casinos in the UK.

Operators are required to adhere to more stringent account information policies, which could be one of the reasons many online casino users are favouring reputable non-UK sites. Alongside this, many of these users are also using offshore alternatives because they offer wider payment options, better promotions, and more diverse game catalogues. Many of these sites hold licenses in Malta or Curaçao and are known for providing more freedom to players, which is why they attract users who value flexible limits and faster onboarding.

Alongside seeking more flexibility, player behaviour shifted in other ways during the quarter. Sessions on online slots lasting more than an hour fell 9% to 8.8 million and now account for 5% of total play, down from 6% a year earlier. Average session length moved to 16 minutes, a one‑minute decline. The Commission noted that several operators refined how they measure a session, which can nudge the totals. Even with that caveat, shorter sessions hint at tighter controls and more active prompts that encourage breaks or end play after periods of intensity.

New limits on stakes arrived on 21 May and will shape the coming quarters. The rules set a £2 maximum per spin for adults aged 18 to 24 and £5 for those 25 and older. Policymakers designed the cap to slow rapid losses in high‑velocity games. Operators have adjusted staking ladders, pop‑ups, and risk checks to fit the framework. It is too early to draw sweeping conclusions. For now, the headline numbers show slots revenue growing while the system absorbs the cap and customers recalibrate how they play.

High street venues faced another tough spell. Betting premises GGY fell 5% year on year to £552 million, with bets and spins in shops down 3% to 3.2 billion. Footfall costs money, so declining volume bites hard when rents, staffing, and compliance bills keep rising. Several chains have trimmed opening hours, consolidated weaker locations, and pushed customers toward account‑based play that links shop terminals with digital wallets. The winners in retail will likely be operators that turn stores into service hubs rather than pure staking points.

These numbers pour fuel on the tax and regulation debate. The Treasury wants dependable receipts. Consumer groups want limits that keep harm down. Operators warn that layered controls, higher costs, and point‑of‑consumption taxes can push heavy users to foreign platforms and reduce domestic spend. The risk is leakage: a slice of play drifts offshore, lowering taxable GGY while exposing players to uneven dispute resolution. Policymakers must weigh that leakage against the benefits of firmer guardrails.

A targeted path has supporters across the aisle. Better data sharing on markers of harm, proportionate affordability checks that focus on outliers, and faster interventions when spending patterns deteriorate can protect at‑risk customers without blanketing everyone in friction. Privacy needs respect, as does the right of adults to spend their money within the law. The Commission’s quarterly cadence helps here. It gives Parliament and industry a common set of figures to judge whether rules curb harm without distorting the market.

The months ahead will test that balance. Slots GGY and total spins hit fresh peaks in Q1, even as long sessions eased and stake caps bedded in after May. Sports betting may rebound with a stronger event calendar, yet it must compete with casino formats that deliver constant availability and quick outcomes. The tax argument will then rest on evidence, not noise.

Entertainment

Summer Feastival to bring food, music and family fun to Pembrey

Published

2 days ago

June 11, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A WEEKEND of street food, live music, circus entertainment and family activities is heading to Pembrey Country Park this month.

Summer Feastival, organised by Street Food Circus, will take place from Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21, bringing what organisers describe as the “ultimate coastal foodie weekend” to Carmarthenshire.

The event will be held over the summer solstice weekend, with visitors able to enjoy food, entertainment and activities against the backdrop of Pembrey Country Park and the nearby eight-mile beach.

This year’s event includes a new BBC Horizons live music stage, created through a partnership with BBC Wales, showcasing emerging bands and artists from across Wales.

Families will also be able to enjoy the World’s Biggest Bouncy Castle, Attack! Mexican Wrestling, Chris Bullzini’s high wire show, the Incredibly Clever Canine Circus, a free circus school, craft activities with Let’s Make Art, crazy golf from Kiss My Putt, and Bull Axe Throwing.

There will also be an Indie Collectives market featuring Welsh independent makers and crafts, along with a Big Top Picnic celebrating local food producers.

As evening falls, the event will move into a more relaxed festival atmosphere, with live music, slower beats and a fire finale from the Pembrokeshire Fire Spinners.

Food will be at the heart of the weekend, with traders including The Dough Thrower, serving 72-hour fermented wood-fired pizzas, Pasta a Mano with handmade pasta from West Wales, Mar y Fuego with seafood cooked over fire, and Mabiko with Zimbabwean and South African dishes.

Other traders include The Queen Pepiada, TNT Tacos, Two Lads Kitchen, Burger Bros, Paletas, Poutine Punks, Churros Hermanos, Drizzle and The Coffee Shop.

Drinks will be provided by Tiny Rebel, SFC’s Bobo bar, Lola’s Cocktails and The Lemonade Stand.

Street Food Circus founder Matt ‘the Hat’ said: “Pembrey Country Park is our biggest event of the season, and it’s a truly spectacular location.

“We’re bringing the best of Welsh street food and a circus-full of entertainment and activities for kids and big kids alike.

“With an on-site campsite, people don’t have to rush home. You can have a beach stroll in the morning, explore the Feastival and park adventures like the toboggan, miniature railway or dry ski slope by day, and let the music drift you into a warm summer evening. It’s the ultimate summer escape.

“This year we are going all out with more food, more music, and a brand-new live stage.”

He said the event will also include the new Little Kooks Clwb, aimed at children who enjoy food-based activities.

Kids’ tickets are free, while an optional Little Kooks Clwb package includes an activity backpack with challenges, ideas and foodie inspiration to take home.

Summer Feastival runs at Pembrey Country Park from Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21.

Opening hours are Friday 4:00pm to 10:00pm, Saturday 10:00am to 10:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am to 7:00pm.

Tickets start at £9.50, with children admitted free. More information is available at streetfoodcircus.co.uk.

Entertainment

BBC Cymru Wales launches new fund for YouTube-first content

Published

3 days ago

June 10, 2026

Tom Sinclair

BBC Cymru Wales has launched a new development fund aimed at creating bold, original factual entertainment content for younger digital audiences.

The Format Fund will support five independent production companies, with each receiving £7,000 to develop an original pilot designed specifically for YouTube-first viewers aged 16 to 24.

The initiative is intended to encourage creative risk-taking and explore what the next generation of factual entertainment could look like in a digital-first media landscape.

BBC Cymru Wales says it is looking for ideas that move away from traditional television production models and instead embrace YouTube-native storytelling, with clear concepts, strong pacing, repeatable formats and striking visuals that quickly capture attention.

Nick Andrews, Head of Commissioning for BBC Cymru Wales said: “As part of a busy summer of piloting and commissioning YouTube content of all shapes and sizes across scripted and unscripted we’re delighted to be heading into this super fun genre.

“We’d love to be in a world where we can scale up these fact-ent pilots into something for the whole of the BBC to enjoy – wishing everyone all the best as they get stuck into it.”

Successful ideas could be developed further with BBC Cymru Wales, with the potential to become returning digital series.

The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday, July 3.

Entertainment

Duffy set for secret comeback gig after 15 years away from UK stage

Published

4 days ago

June 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

WELSH singer Duffy is set to make her live UK comeback with a secret London show, more than 15 years after her last concert appearance in Britain.

The Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Aimee Anne Duffy, revealed the news to fans in an Instagram story, confirming that the intimate performance will take place on July 5.

Duffy wrote: “I’m doing a secret intimate gig in London on the 5th July, next month, and I would love nothing more than for some of you to attend.

“It’s only small capacity so we can only select a few, but really looking forward to it, I will sing some new songs.

“All my love, Duffy x.”

The performance will include new material and marks her first UK live show since December 2010, when she appeared at Capital FM’s Jingle Bell Ball at the O2 Arena in London.

Duffy became one of Wales’ biggest music stars following the release of her debut album Rockferry, which was powered by the hit single Mercy. The song topped the UK charts for five weeks and helped establish her internationally.

Her second album, Endlessly, followed in 2010, but she later withdrew from public life.

Years later, Duffy revealed that she had been drugged, raped and held captive, explaining her long absence from the music industry.

Her return to the stage comes shortly after confirmation that she will feature in a new Disney+ documentary, which will explore her rise to fame, her life in Wales, her career, and the traumatic events that led to her stepping away from the spotlight.

Duffy also has strong links to Pembrokeshire. After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother and two sisters to Letterston, near Fishguard.

She later attended Sir Thomas Picton School in Haverfordwest, where she completed her GCSEs before returning to North Wales to live with her father.