Entain forecasts £25m annual cost from UK machine games duty rise

Entain said it expects the increase in UK machine games duty to add about £25m a year to costs at its UK and Ireland retail business before mitigation. The company said it intends to offset the amount in full by the end of 2028, according to a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the day the budget was delivered.

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey announced in the Autumn Budget that Machine Games Duty would rise from 20% to 25% on higher-stakes machines. The 25% rate applies to machine games with stakes over £1 or prizes over £100, while lower-stake machines keep their current rate, which the source said protects pubs and seaside arcades. For Entain, duty on gross gaming revenue from Type 2 gaming machines in its shops rises from 20% to 25% from 1 April 2027.

Entain calculated the annualised £25m estimate from consensus forecasts for fiscal 2027 UK and Ireland retail net gaming revenue. The company said it plans to absorb the cost through estate rationalisation, group-wide optimisation initiatives and potential market share gains, adding that it expects an opportunity to recapture customers as peers re-evaluate their UK market presence.

The company kept its fiscal 2026 guidance, issued on 15 October 2026, unchanged, along with its expectation of generating £500m in annual adjusted cash flow in 2028.

A further change takes effect on 1 April 2028: suppliers of machines that are owned by the supplier and operated under profit-sharing deals will then carry the duty themselves. The Treasury forecasts that the two measures together will bring in £135m during 2027/28 and £150m during 2028/29.

This MGD rise comes on top of the online tax changes announced in the November 2025 Budget. Remote gaming duty went from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026, while the rate for general betting duty on remote betting is set to rise from 15% to 25% on 1 April 2027.

Entain said it was disappointed by the decision to raise the tax burden on what it called an already highly taxed industry, and said the rise would affect the wider industry, UK high streets, jobs and livelihoods. Stella David, chief executive of Entain, said: "This is another disappointing decision by the Government. The previous gambling tax increases announced in November last year have already had detrimental consequences across the industry, with the effects being felt by employees, communities as well as customers. These additional tax changes will further compound that damage and push more people into the growing illegal market."

David went on: "We will continue to work hard to limit the impact of these changes on our business, our people, and the communities in which we operate. Our priority is to protect jobs wherever possible whilst supporting a sustainable retail presence on UK high streets." The source also noted that Flutter had said earlier in the month that it would cut as many as 1,400 roles across its UK and Ireland operations, pointing to the remote gaming duty increase.