CMS tax co-head Stephen Hignett said the UK Treasury still needs to understand why parts of the gambling industry operate offshore, ahead of the budget. He said the sector’s history and competitive conditions shaped those arrangements, following Treasury scrutiny of offshore companies and a consultation on gambling taxes.
Treasury understanding of offshore operators may shape future gambling tax policy.
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The Betting and Gaming Council said the UK’s planned increase in Machine Games Duty to 25% could put nearly 9,000 jobs at risk and leave almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos facing closure or serious risk of closure, citing EY estimates. The council also cited more than 600 betting shops closed or set to close since the previous year’s budget and said over 11,000 online and retail jobs had been lost or put at risk. Its chief executive, Grainne Hurst, criticised the tax increase.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has criticised the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer's decision to raise Machine Games Duty (MGD) to 25%, the trade body said. The BGC said the increase would put almost 9,000 jobs at risk and leave almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos facing closure or serious risk of closure, according to estimates by EY cited by the council.
A group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor John Healey calling for a higher rate of machine games duty on Category B machines, including B3 machines in Adult Gaming Centres. The letter, sent on Friday, comes ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October amid speculation about tax rises for land-based casinos. The Betting and Gaming Council called the proposal "deeply misguided", citing studies that a rise to 40% could cost up to 16,000 jobs.
A group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor John Healey asking for a higher rate of machine games duty (MGD) on Category B gambling machines, including B3 machines in Adult Gaming Centres. The letter was sent on Friday. It arrives before the Autumn Budget on 28 October, amid speculation that the chancellor will announce tax increases for UK land-based casinos.
GamblingNews reported on 16 October 2026 that 89 Labour MPs backed a letter urging Chancellor John Healey to consider an increase in machine gaming duty. The letter discusses Category B machines and says a 40% rate could raise GBP 275 million to GBP 458 million a year, while noting that it does not specify this rate. BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst warned that higher taxes could lead to more shop closures; Bacta said a 40% rate could cost thousands of jobs.
Eighty-nine Labour MPs have backed a letter urging Chancellor John Healey to consider an increase in machine gaming duty (MGD). The letter was authored by Alex Ballinger, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform. It asks for Category B machines to be treated in line with last year's increases to online gaming and betting taxes.
Reportedly, Betting & Gaming Council members have asked UK Chancellor John Healey to reject a proposed increase in Machine Games Duty on category B machines from 20% to 40%. The Treasury is considering the MGD change for the autumn budget, while the letter also seeks a further delay to the General Betting Duty rise from 15% to 25%, scheduled for April 2027.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee urged the UK government to ban gambling advertising. Its follow-up report also called on ministers to drop the aim of growing the licensed industry and return to a policy of tolerating gambling without promoting it. Industry figures and researchers dispute the report’s treatment of survey data, advertising measures and illegal-market risks.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee has urged the government to ban gambling advertising "as soon as practicable" and to abandon its aim of growing the licensed industry, in a follow-up report published on 17 September. The committee said there is "no evidence for the safety of gambling advertising" and that voluntary measures "have not gone far enough". The government has two months to respond.