Higher-stakes gaming machines in the UK are getting hit with another tax rise, with Machine Games Duty going from 20% to 25%. Chancellor John Healey confirmed the change in the Autumn Budget on October 28, and the new rate kicks in on April 1, 2027. Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls, and adult gaming centres will all feel it, on top of the higher taxes on online gambling the industry is already dealing with.
Machines with maximum stakes above £1 or prizes above £100 will move out of the standard 20% duty band and into the existing 25% higher-rate band. Lower-stakes machines, the kind usually found in pubs and seaside arcades, keep their current treatment. The Treasury expects the change to raise an extra £135 million in 2027-28, and around £130 million a year after that.
Healey said the money will help pay for business rates relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses, arguing that higher-stakes machines should carry more tax because of their link to gambling harm. Adult gaming centres will also lose access to some business rates reliefs from April 2027. Operators pay Machine Games Duty on net machine takings rather than customers paying it directly, though HM Revenue & Customs acknowledged that businesses could pass some of the extra cost on through lower payouts.
The Betting and Gaming Council came out swinging, warning the increase could speed up betting shop closures and job losses. Citing EY modelling, the industry body said almost 9,000 jobs could go and nearly 1,000 betting shops and casinos could close or be put at serious risk, and claimed more than 600 betting shops have already closed or announced closures since the last Budget, with over 11,000 industry jobs lost or put at risk.
Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, puts the cost to its UK and Ireland retail business at around £25 million a year before any mitigation. CEO Stella David criticised the decision and warned that piling on more tax could push customers toward unlicensed operators. Entain expects to make up the extra cost by the end of 2028 through operational changes, including possible shop closures, wider cost cutting, and winning market share.
Racing is worried too. British Horseracing Authority chief executive Brant Dunshea warned that betting shop closures could cut the sport’s income by as much as £57 million a year, based on independent modelling shared with the Treasury. High-street betting currently makes up nearly a third of British racing’s £350 million in annual income, through betting-related payments and commercial deals, and the BHA plans to work with the government to soften the hit.
All of this lands on top of the big gambling tax changes from the November 2025 Budget. Remote Gaming Duty on online casino products went from 21% to 40% in April 2026, and General Betting Duty on most online sports betting rises from 15% to 25% in April 2027, while betting on British horseracing stays at 15% because operators already pay a statutory levy on it. For companies running both online platforms and physical betting shops, the machine duty rise is one more layer of cost.
A change to who pays Machine Games Duty on supplier-owned machines run under profit-sharing arrangements is also on the way. From April 2028, liability in qualifying arrangements will move from venue operators to machine suppliers, with a consultation on how to implement it open until January 20, 2027. The rise to 25% itself will go through the Finance Bill 2026-27.