Machine games tax to rise as betting shops face closure threat

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 15:58 · Archive

Machine Games Duty will rise from 20 to 25 per cent in April 2027, with the gambling industry warning of shop closures.

The government announced a rise in Machine Games Duty from 20 to 25 per cent in April 2027. The Betting and Gaming Council warned that almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos could close or be put at serious risk, citing modelling commissioned from EY. BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst said: 'This is a deeply damaging decision and a blow to the thousands of workers, businesses and communities who depend on Britain's regulated betting and gaming industry'.

The increase is smaller than the 40 per cent rate recommended by the Social Market Foundation thinktank and demanded by some campaigners and Labour MPs. Guardian Sport reports that the horse racing industry feared the tax rise could cost it an estimated £92m in annual income from off-course gambling.

Stock market investors welcomed the smaller-than-feared increase, sending shares in several gambling operators higher. Entain estimates the increase will cost its UK retail business £25m annually before mitigation, but expects to offset the impact through shop closures, cost savings and market share gains by the end of 2028. The Chancellor said the tax increase would fund business rates relief for small retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, though betting shops will face higher costs.

How it is being reported

• ‘Jobs killer’: Gambling industry lashes out at Healey betting tax raidAfter the Chancellor announced a tax hike for the gambling and betting sector, Saskia Koopman dissected the industry reaction Machine Games Duty (MGD) will rise from 20 to 25 per cent in April 2027, below the 40 per cent demanded by campaigners and some Labour MPs. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) warned that almost [...]City AM · 28 Oct, 15:42
• Bookies fear budget hit but gaming machine self-harm killed off the old-fashioned shopsA wholesale plunder of local communities via casino-gaming took place and racing was content to sit on sidelines Has it really been almost a year since racing’s last bout of Budget-related anxiety? Apparently so, because having successfully persuaded Rachel Reeves to exempt racing from a (modest) hike in betting day in 2025, here we are again, nervously anticipating Wednesday’s budget amid warnings that John Healey could effectively sound the death-knell for high-street betting shops. Healey is widely expected to raise the rate of Machine Games Duty (MGD) in the budget, a move which could…Guardian Sport · 26 Oct, 18:35

In this story: John Healey · Betting and Gaming Council · Grainne Hurst · UK

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