UK gaming hall sector activates “evidence-based strategy” ahead of “frightening and stark” Autumn Budget fears
Bacta intends to combine economic modelling and lived experience to make its case against tax rises or the UK’s land-based gaming sector.
UK.- The UK’s gaming and amusement hall trade body Bacta says it has begun preparing submissions as this year’s Autumn Budget approaches. It said it intends to submit a combination of “internal insight and external expertise” to make its case ahead of what will be the first budget delivered by John Healey, who was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on July 20, by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
The government has set September 9 as the deadline for submissions, seven weeks before Healey presents his fiscal measures to the House of Commons on October 28. Bacta President Joseph Cullis noted the small window of opportunity to make submissions but said Bacta intends to prepare “the strongest possible case” in a bid to protect the sector.
The land-based gaming sector escaped unscathed from the 2025 Autumn Budget, which saw the announcement of a steep hike in Remote Gaming Duty from 21 to 40 per cent from April 2026, and a rise in general betting duty on online sports wagers (excluding horseracing) from 15 to 25 per cent to start from April 2027. Rates were unchanged for land-based gaming and betting venues, while bingo duty was scrapped entirely.
However, the influential Social Market Foundation (SMF) has since proposed that the MGD rate on Category B slot machines should be increased to 40 per cent to bring them level with the new tax rate on online slots. Category B devices, which can pay out up to £500, are the most common type of electronic gaming machine in UK betting shops, arcades and bingo halls. They are currently subject to a MGD of just 5 per cent on stakes up to 20p, 20 per cent on stakes up to £5, and 25 per cent on stakes above £5.
The SMF’s proposal would keep the MGD rate on Category C machines, typically found in pubs, at 20 per cent and that on lower-stake devices at 5 per cent. It argues that this would shift the tax burden to riskier EGMs while protecting the hospitality industry. However, a survey of Bacta members highlighted fears found that 90 per cent feared a “severe negative impact” of such a move.
Meanwhile, Burnham’s government has announced plans to reduce business rate relief for high street gaming halls. Burnham’s administration announced that from April 2027, businesses deemed to have a “negative impact” on society will pay higher rates. While Vape shops were the only business immediately named, Burnham dropped strong hints that gaming venues will also be subject to the measure.
Evidence-based strategy for budget submission
Bacta said it would repeat the “evidence-based strategy” it applied last year. Putting Bacta members on a campaign footing Cullis said: “We have an extremely small window to present Bacta’s case for a progressive tax framework that will enable the industry to contribute to the Government’s growth agenda rather than a regressive framework that will inevitably lead to business closures, job losses and the migration of players from the regulated to the unregulated gaming sector.”
He added: “The impact that a significant uplift in Machine Games Duty would have on members is both frightening and stark. Although representing a direct hit on Britain’s land-based gambling sector, it’s naïve in the extreme to assume the damage would stop there. There’s absolutely no doubt that it would be felt on high streets, in seaside towns, in social clubs, on piers, in family entertainment centres, across bingo premises, and throughout the entire supply chain of manufacturers, suppliers and small businesses that depend on this sector.”
Cullis stressed that as well as economic modelling and research, the body will also draw on the lived experience of members.
“Charles Holland, whose family has spent over half a century operating at the coast, has gone on the record detailing how MGD is a turnover tax and how an increase would present businesses with three options – either absorbing the costs through reduced profitability, raising the cost of playing non-gaming equipment, or reducing staffing levels,” he said.
“The conclusion is that a substantial increase in turnover tax would inevitably reduce the ability of Bacta members to invest, make expansion less attractive, put pressure on jobs and ultimately reduce economic activity at a time when the country is crying out for growth. Members can be assured that Bacta will be presenting the strongest possible case for a progressive rather than a punitive fiscal regime.”
