There may be a significant tax increase in store for UK land-based slot machines and casinos as the proposed measure, supported by the Social Market Foundation, starts to move forward. As reported in The Guardian, the plan may generate up to £458 million per year through raising Machine Games Duty levied on Category B machines.
The proposal is aimed at £2-a-spin machines used in adult gaming centers, casinos, and betting establishments. In particular, the plan suggests increasing the duty on machines to 40% from current 20%, while keeping lower-stakes machines in pubs unaffected.
For the gambling industry, it is yet another development in the context where land-based venues face regulatory pressure, social criticism, and increased competition from online gambling websites. The tax increase will obviously affect those operators who derive income from slots – adult gaming centers and casinos.
Those who support the proposal claim that high street gaming machines are associated with gambling harm and tend to cluster in poorer neighborhoods. In addition, the Social Market Foundation pointed out that the proposal would generate additional revenues and target a sector that had been rapidly growing.
The reaction from the side of the industry is quite obvious – trade associations warned about potential negative consequences on high street venues, job losses, and increased attraction of players to gambling that is either illegal or unregulated. As always, there is the classic dilemma between government desire for control and regulation on one hand, and operator claims of excessive restrictions being harmful for legal market.
For the iGaming sector in general, the development is interesting in the context of gambling regulation changes in both directions. Taxes on online casino revenues have already been raised, and now the same may happen to physical slots and casino business. Meanwhile, New Zealand players interested in online casino games may want to read our mobile pokies guide first.
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Sophia Novakivska