Genting UK closes Coventry casino citing rising costs
The casino operator said the land-based casino in Coventry was no longer sustainable.
Key takeaways:
- Genting Casinos will close its Coventry casino, which opened in 2012 and employs 51 staff, after concluding that the venue is no longer commercially viable amid rising operating costs and tax pressures.
- The operator says increasing employment costs, business rates, energy bills, regulatory compliance expenses and gambling taxes are squeezing margins across the UK’s land-based casino sector.
- Genting has warned that any increase in Machine Gaming Duty could lead to further venue closures, job losses and reduced investment.
UK.- Genting Casinos has closed its land-based casino in Coventry, citing mounting commercial challenges facing the UK’s casino industry. The company said that it was “no longer commercially viable to sustain trading”.
Genting’s Coventry casino at the Skydome in Croft Road opened in 2012 and employed 51 staff. Genting attributed the decision to a combination of rising costs that have placed increasing pressure on land-based gambling operators. According to the operator, casinos have faced sharp increases in employment expenses, business rates, energy bills and regulatory compliance costs in recent years, alongside higher gambling taxes.
The announcement comes amid growing industry concern over reports that the UK Government could raise Machine Gaming Duty (MGD) in Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget on October 28. Proposals under discussion would see the lower MGD rate rise from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, the standard rate increase from 20 to 40 per cent and the higher rate move from 25 to 50 per cent. The debate has been fuelled in part by calls from the Social Market Foundation, while former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also backed higher MGD rates as a way of boosting public finances.
The industry is already grappling with significant tax increases. In last year’s Autumn Budget, the then chancellor Rachel Reeves increased Remote Gaming Duty from 21 to 40 per cent from April 2026 and announced that General Betting Duty will rise from 15 to 25 per cent from April 2027.
Industry executives have warned that additional tax burdens could trigger widespread job losses and venue closures across the gambling sector. Several operators are already reviewing their retail footprints or considering reductions to their estate.
Betfred founder Fred Done has claimed that such a rise in MGD would make high street betting “will be dead” by 2030, while Rank Group, the owner of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, says it could have to close around a third of its venues. However, Paddy Power co-founder Stewart Kenny accused Done of “familiar scaremongering”.
Genting urged policymakers to carefully assess the potential consequences of any MGD increase before final decisions are made. “Any increase in Machine Games Duty will force the closure of multiple venues across the country, resulting in the loss of hundreds of skilled jobs and reducing economic activity in towns and cities where casinos form part of the leisure, hospitality and night-time economy,” it said.
“Such closures would also reduce investment in local communities, diminish consumer choice and ultimately reduce tax revenues from a sector that already makes a significant contribution to the UK economy.”
FAQs
Why is Genting closing its Coventry casino? The company says the venue is no longer commercially sustainable because of mounting costs and taxation pressures facing the casino industry.
What changes to UK gambling taxes are causing concern? Reports suggest the Government is considering significant increases to Machine Gaming Duty, on top of tax rises already announced for remote gaming and betting duties.
