Ninety Labour MPs Urge 40% Machine Games Duty in UK Autumn Budget

Around 90 Labour MPs have written to Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey asking him to raise Machine Games Duty on Category B gaming machines to 40 per cent in the forthcoming Autumn Budget, with just over a week to go before the announcement. The proposal, led in Parliament by Halesowen MP Alex Ballinger and backed by former prime minister Gordon Brown, cites Social Market Foundation analysis that a higher MGD rate could generate between £275m and £458m a year.

The proposal and its basis

Alex Ballinger’s letter asks the government to adopt the Machine Games Duty increase on Category B machines that the Social Market Foundation put forward in June. Category B devices can pay out up to £500 and are the most common electronic gaming machines in UK betting shops, arcades and bingo halls. Ballinger referenced the SMF's estimate that a higher MGD could raise between £275m and £458m in annual tax revenue.

Ballinger also told the chancellor that adult gaming centres are concentrated in deprived areas, arguing the distribution is unequal: “47 per cent are located in the most deprived fifth of the country, while the most deprived local authorities have more than six times as many per head as the least deprived.” He cited Gambling Commission evidence linking high-stake, high-prize machine play with higher contact rates for gambling help services and greater frequency and expenditure among problem gamblers.

Ballinger proposed that pub fruit machines should be exempt from any increase and that the higher rate should apply only to Category B machines. He emphasised that bingo would remain free of duty under the proposal and said: “This targeted Labour reform would protect communities from harm, require fair contributions from the broadest shoulders, and back high streets creating opportunity and retaining wealth. Pubs would pay no more, bingo games would stay duty-free and lower-category machines would remain protected.”

Current MGD structure and the reported change

Under the present Machine Games Duty schedule, Category B machines are taxed at tiered rates: 5 per cent on stakes up to 20p, 20 per cent on stakes up to £5, and 25 per cent on stakes above £5. Category C machines, typically found in pubs, are taxed at 20 per cent while lower-stake devices are at 5 per cent. Reports of the proposed change indicate a scenario in which MGD on Category B machines would effectively double across tiers — with the standard rate moving to 40 per cent — while Category C rates would remain unchanged. The article preserves those reported figures while noting they are the subject of the MPs’ request ahead of the Autumn Budget decision.

Details on gambling taxation and regulation explain the current framework and the distinctions between machine categories.

Industry reaction and warnings

Trade bodies and operators have pushed back against a higher MGD. The Bingo Association’s chief executive Nicole Garrett warned that venues could be put at risk because bingo operators continue to rely heavily on machine revenues, even though bingo games themselves would remain exempt from the proposed duty rise. The Betting and Gaming Council is campaigning against the hike under its Back Our Betting Shops initiative.

Private-sector voices have issued stark projections. Betfred founder Fred Done has claimed that doubling MGD would lead to the disappearance of high-street bookmakers by 2030, while Rank Group has said it might be forced to close a third of its venues. More than 1,000 members of the greyhound racing sector have also signed a letter opposing potential increases, citing downstream effects on that sport’s economics.

Where the debate stands before the Budget

The campaign for a rate rise mirrors last year’s posture around increases to Remote Gaming Duty and General Betting Duty; the SMF is among think tanks that proposed those earlier changes. With the Autumn Budget less than two weeks away, the push from roughly 90 Labour MPs and high-profile supporters such as Gordon Brown represents a coordinated attempt to influence the Chancellor’s fiscal choices in this spending review.

Industry groups including Bacta and the Betting and Gaming Council are lobbying the government against the proposal, warning of job losses and venue closures if higher MGD is implemented. The scale of projected revenue — the SMF’s £275m–£458m range — is central to the argument being presented to the Treasury.

Coverage of industry campaigns and operator responses outlines further reactions from affected sectors.