Her Majesty Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has received an 8% year-on-year decrease in UK betting and gaming tax duty for the current financial year, with income affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

HMRC has so far received £1.34bn ($1.74bn) for the financial year from betting and gaming receipts in the country, with 32% coming directly from Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) which is up by 30% from the previous year.

A 3% decrease in General Betting Duty (GBD) down to £265m suggests the suspension and cancellation of live sport in mid-March led to a reduction in such receipts.

As a result, UK Addiction and Treatment (UKAT) analysis shows in July only £80m of GBD was generated, almost half that of the same period last year, while betting receipts from September of £30m were lower than in the previous two financial years.

Machine Game Duty for the current year stands at £147m, representing a 46% fall compared to last year and the lowest since being introduced in April 2013, while the closure of bingo venues led to its duty receipts decreasing 73% down to £4m.

UKAT head of treatment Nuno Albuquerque, said: “The figures in today’s report were, overall, unsurprising and expected.

“Of course income from Machine Game Duty and Bingo Duty would have taken a hit, as the places where people would have engaged with this type of activity were forced to close. 

“People will deal with the coronavirus crisis in different ways. It’s important to remember that too much of anything can be detrimental, especially if it starts to negatively impact on your day to day life.”