UK Raises Machine Gaming Duty to 25%, Confirms Stakeholders’ Fears

The United Kingdom has confirmed that the Machine Gaming Duty will be raised to 25% from 20%, with the Chancellor, John Healey, delivering the news during the 2026 Budget. While the increase is lower than the 40% that was floated previously, the decision is likely to impact bookmakers and betting shops significantly. Chancellor Delivers on Feared Tax Increase As stakeholders, including Betfred, have warned in the past, raising the tax on one aspect of the industry does not work in a vacuum. Many companies run both online and land-based operations and, as such, they have to absorb costs from one area into the next, and vice versa. This means that no matter how targeted the tax increase, the knock-on effect is real, with jobs on the chopping block as exemplified by Evoke, Betfred, and, not least, Flutter Entertainment. The last one is cutting up to 1,400 people from its United Kingdom & Ireland division, the largest layoff round announced by a gaming entity in the UK recently. Another British champion, bet365, also announced hundreds of layoffs earlier this year – all in anticipation of the now-passed machine gaming duty increase. “To pay for this support for our high streets, I am raising taxes on gambling – by increasing Machine Games Duty from 20 per cent to 25 per cent for higher stakes machines, while protecting pubs and seaside arcades,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Healey said. The immediate impact outside of job losses is that companies are now going to have less money on hand to support racing in the United Kingdom, with many already pulling the plug on partnerships they previously maintained. The BGC has issued a statement in which it said that the decision was a deeply damaging one, and it was a blow to the sector and workers. “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 BGC has said in a statement. Livelihoods on the Chopping Block The trade group heavily criticized the decision and argued that it will not be without consequences, with as many as 9,000 people at risk of losing their jobs, while the long-term impact on the budget from the raised levy may not be what the government expects. As many as 1,000 betting shops and casinos could now be at a serious risk of closing. “Every betting shop or casino closure means lost livelihoods, more empty premises and another huge blow to our high streets. These venues will not simply be replaced, particularly in places already struggling to attract jobs and investment,” the BGC concluded.