EAG360 president invites UK ministers to meet businesses facing gaming tax rises
Regulation2 min read
EAG360 president Nick Harding invited Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Chancellor John Healey and other ministers to its 12–14 January 2027 London event to meet businesses concerned about tax changes. The government announced a rise in Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25%, effective 1 April 2027, for machines with stakes above £1 or prizes above £100. Organisers also cited a planned end to Business Rates Relief for Adult Gaming Centres.
EAG360 president Nick Harding has invited UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Chancellor John Healey and other ministers to the event at ExCeL London from 12 to 14 January 2027. The invitation is intended to bring ministers into contact with businesses that operators say could be affected by tax measures announced in the 28 October Autumn Budget.
The UK government has raised Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25% for gaming machines with stakes above one pound or prizes above 100 pounds. The measure is scheduled to apply from 1 April 2027, particularly affecting Adult Gaming Centres, bingo halls, betting shops and casinos. A planned end to Business Rates Relief for Adult Gaming Centres is also worrying the sector, according to EAG360 organisers.
In documents published on 29 October, the government said it wanted to tax higher-stake and higher-prize machines more heavily because it considered them more closely associated with gambling risks, while retaining the tax treatment for lower-stake machines.
Harding said higher taxation could make many businesses financially unsustainable, causing closures, job losses and lower tax receipts for the Treasury. He said the effects could extend to employment and local economies, with small and medium-sized businesses making up much of the sector. He said he had managed more than 300 such businesses.
Associations supporting the event include Bacta, the Bingo Association, the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions and the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain. Harding wants Burnham and Healey to meet business owners, many of whom run family companies passed down through generations.
Organisers plan to produce short films and interviews at the exhibition and send them to the chancellor and prime minister. Harding said the aim was to help ministers understand the businesses and the potential effect of the duty increase on them.
EAG360 will bring together Amuse Expo, CompSocUK and London Gaming Show, covering entertainment, competitive social gaming and the gambling industry respectively. Attendance is free with advance registration.