Unnamed sources have told The Times that Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, will present an Autumn Budget that puts the Machine Games Duty (MGD) up by 5%.
If confirmed on the day of the Budget’s announcement, 28 October, an increase to 25% from the current 20% rate will give the land-based betting and entertainment industry a much needed sigh of relief.
Severe panic attacks have been engrossing gambling stakeholders for months now, following the June report from think-tank Social Market Foundation (SMF) that called for a doubling of MGD to 40%.
These calls were later picked up by prominent pro-gambling reform voices. Most recently, a cohort of Labour 90 MPs co-signed a letter written by Labour MP Alex Ballinger, echoing SMF’s exact position to raise MGD to 40%.
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown, ex-UK PM from 2007 to 2010, publicly advocated for an increase in MGD to raise additional government funding for combating the rising cost-of-living.
The gambling sector has typically grown to fear Brown’s public comments, given how close he came to predicting the first wave of tax increases in 2025, when the Budget brought Remote Gaming Duty up to 40% and General Betting Duty up to 25%.
In the lead up to the last Budget, Gordon was continuously advocating for RGD to go up to 50%, and GBD up to 25%. He also called for MGD to be raised to 50%, but it was subsequently spared from any further increases in 2025.
Last but not least, current PM Andy Burnham has also not done much to calm the gambling sector, given how open he’s been about his disdain of Adult Gaming Centers (AGCs) – the third venue type next to betting shops and bingo halls that rely on gaming machines – and his views that local authorities should be able limit the number of bookies within their constituencies.
Facing so much public pressure has forced the UK gambling sector’s survival instinct to kick in, leading to a coordinated lobbying campaign the scale of which has not been seen in a very long time.
This is understandable, given just how much of the UK’s gambling economy MGD affects – from operators, to employees, to some of the most inherently British sports.
Galloping towards chaos
There is horse racing for one, a sector still trying to return to its former glory following the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of its annual funding comes through the Horserace Betting Levy, paid by bookmakers and their gross profits made from related bets.
And while betting on the sport was excluded from the 2025 duty increases, funding for it will be inevitably impacted if betting shops start to close as a result of an increase in MGD rates.
Mind you, shop closures and job losses are not some theoretical scenario loosely hanging in the air. This is already happening thanks to the increases we saw in 2025. One example is Flutter Entertainment, which just announced the axing of 1,400 jobs as a cost cutting measure.
To really put things into perspective, Fred Done, Founder of Betfred, one of the biggest bookmakers in the UK, envisioned a high street without any betting shops if MGD was to rise to 40%.
Some might say horse racing could still endure thanks to the bookmaker sponsorship deals it has in place, but that also has suffered significantly as a result of the already-imposed tax increases (down 17% YoY, according to the Racing Post).
Taking with one hand, taking with the other
Another likely victim of the taxman is greyhound racing. Abbie MacGregor, Director of Corporate Affairs at the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), spoke to SBC News about the indirect consequences on the sport that an increase in MGD would have.
“Greyhound racing is fundamentally a betting shop product, that’s where the majority of greyhound bets are placed.
“Obviously, the on-course presence isn’t what it used to be, so without betting shops, it would be difficult for greyhound racing to have a market share.”
MacGregor continued: “This policy will lose money because you’re taking with one hand, and then taking with the other as well.
“You’re taking tax, but then you’re losing all the revenue that the betting shop provides, all the revenue that bookmakers, greyhound racing, horse racing provide, and then you’ve got people who are unemployed and potentially have to go onto the benefits system.”
5%, 20%, 40%, bingo?
While last year’s Budget gave the bingo sector a lot to celebrate by completely abolishing the bingo duty, there is little to be happy about some 12 months later.
Bingo clubs will be undoubtedly affected by a higher MGD. Less so if Healy decides to go through with the 5% increase, but certainly much more noticeable if it comes down to the much-feared double rate of 40%.
Nicole Garrett, CEO of the Bingo Association, recently told GB News that out of the 239 clubs left in the country, a total of 102 will become loss making if the sector’s worst nightmare becomes true.
Addressing Ballinger’s letter, she added: “They said in that letter that bingo would be fine, because they’re not gonna touch bingo duty. We’re really worried that’s misrepresented our argument because we’re not talking about bingo duty.
“We have shouted from the rooftops about what the repercussions would be and I’m afraid to say if MGD goes up, bingo clubs will close. Not all of them, but a significant amount that would put a big dent in that 239 that are left.”
Final stand
With one week left until the Budget gets announced, some of the gambling industry’s biggest trade bodies are also manning their last line of defence.
Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), urged MPs to consider the impacts that higher taxes will have on the sector and the job security it provides.
“MPs are right to be concerned about protecting communities and high streets, but it is deeply misguided to suggest that higher taxes on betting shops and casinos will achieve that,” she said in a LinkedIn post.
“I would urge MPs supporting this letter to consider the consequences for the very communities they want to protect.
“Every closure means fewer jobs, another empty shop front and another blow to Britain’s high streets.
“We should be backing British jobs and businesses, not taxing them out of existence.”
Meanwhile Allaster Gair, Director of Communications at the gambling entertainment trade body Bacta, added: “Government must avoid the self-harm that an increase in MGD will cause and in the process, help support the tourism industry which…generates £127bn annually for the economy.”
