BURNHAM COULD RAISE £460M TAX ON SLOT MACHINES AND CASINOS

All-night slot machine shops and casinos could face a £460m tax increase if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, according to analysis by the Social Market Foundation thinktank. The proposal would double machine games duty from 20% to 40% on Category B £2-a-spin slot machines found in adult gaming centres (AGCs). Burnham has previously expressed concerns about AGCs exploiting vulnerable people and called for tougher regulation of the sector. A poll released by the thinktank found that 43% of the public would support such a tax rise by a future Labour administration.

AGCs, sometimes referred to as "slot sheds", have expanded significantly across UK high streets in recent years, with the Gambling Commission recording record takings for operators. These venues disproportionately locate in economically deprived areas and offer a £2 machine spin every 2.5 seconds. The proposed tax increase would affect major operators including Austrian-owned Admiral and German-owned Merkur, as well as casinos and bookmakers. The plan would leave lower-stakes fruit machines in pubs untouched to protect the hospitality sector's revenue. Online casinos were subject to a tax increase in Rachel Reeves's November budget, but duty on physical slot machines in AGCs was not altered at that time.

Reeves did not pursue the gambling tax rise during the budget process, reportedly due to concerns raised by the horse racing industry about impacts on betting shops. Burnham is widely expected to replace Reeves as chancellor if he becomes prime minister. He previously backed a proposal by Gordon Brown to fund an end to the two-child benefit cap by increasing gambling industry taxation. Bacta, the trade body for AGCs and amusement arcades, criticised the SMF report.