About 90 Labour MPs urge UK chancellor to raise Machine Games Duty

About 90 Labour MPs have signed a letter asking Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey to act on the taxation of category B gaming machines in betting shops, bingo halls and adult gaming centres. The letter was promoted by MP Alex Ballinger.

The letter cites a Social Market Foundation study estimating that an increase in Machine Games Duty could raise between £275m and £458m a year. Among the options discussed is doubling the rate to 40%, although the letter does not expressly set that percentage as the sole aim of the intervention. A poll cited in the document found that 43% of Britons would support higher taxes on slot machines, against 11% opposed to higher taxation.

Ballinger said operators should not retain profits while families and communities bear the costs of gambling-related harm. The proposal is part of a debate on the social effects of gambling and the protection of local communities.

The discussion of Machine Games Duty forms part of a wider dispute between the policy aim of reducing gambling-related harm and industry concerns about the economic sustainability of the land-based network. The issue is expected to enter the debate on the next UK budget, while operators are asking the government to avoid new tax increases and to assess the possible consequences for employment, businesses and public revenue.