The letter cites the Social Market Foundation’s estimates of up to £458 million a year from a 40% rate, while the BGC says EY modelling shows the Treasury could end up worse off.
Operators have spent weeks warning of betting shop and casino closures if machine games duty (MGD) rises at the 28 October Budget. On 16 October, 90 Labour MPs put the opposite case to the Chancellor.
What the letter asks for
Alex Ballinger, Labour MP for Halesowen, wrote the letter to Chancellor John Healey and published it on X, saying 90 Labour MPs had signed it. It asks Healey to introduce a new, higher MGD rate for Category B machines in his first Budget on 28 October.
Category B machines are the higher-stakes machines found in betting shops, adult gaming centres (AGCs), bingo halls, and casinos. The letter singles out B3 machines, which allow stakes of up to £2 and prizes of £500. These machines currently fall under the 20% standard MGD rate, which applies to machines costing between 21p and £5 per play.
The letter does not name a target rate in its request. It does cite Social Market Foundation (SMF) estimates for a 40% Category B rate, which would double the current 20%.
According to the letter, the change would leave three areas untouched:
- Pubs, which cannot offer Category B machines.
- The game of bingo, which stays duty-free after the abolition of Bingo Duty.
- Lower-category machines, which would remain unaffected.
Why the MPs say Category B machines should pay more
The MPs present the proposal as a follow-up to last year’s Budget, which raised remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% and abolished Bingo Duty.
The letter points to Gambling Commission evidence, noted in a Government review of B3 machines. It found that players of high-stake, high-prize machines are among the groups most likely to contact gambling help services, and that people with gambling problems play machines more often and spend relatively more time and money on them.
Ballinger wrote that AGCs are clustered in poorer areas, with 47% located in the most deprived fifth of the country. He added that the most deprived local authorities have more than six times as many AGCs per head as the least deprived.
The letter also cites SMF modelling that puts the economic losses linked to machine gaming harm at more than £2.3 billion, with downstream fiscal costs of up to £669 million.
Ballinger wrote:
‘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.’
BGC disputes the numbers
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) responded on 17 October. Grainne Hurst, chief executive of the BGC, said on LinkedIn she was ‘deeply concerned’ by the letter.
Hurst said: ‘EY modelling shows a rise to 40 per cent could cost up to 16,000 jobs, close nearly 1,500 betting shops and 34 casinos, and leave the Treasury up to £124 million worse off.’
Hurst added that more than 600 betting shops have closed or announced closure since the last Budget, with over 10,000 jobs lost or put at risk.
‘MPs calling for higher taxes should consider the consequences for the very communities they say they want to protect. Every closure means another empty shopfront, fewer jobs and another blow to Britain’s high streets.’
How the two sides’ figures compare
| Measure | Labour MPs’ letter | BGC statement |
| Source | SMF modelling and polling | EY modelling |
| Treasury effect of a 40% rate | £275 million to £458 million raised a year, even allowing for significant behavioural change | Up to £124 million worse off |
| Jobs and venues | Not modelled in the letter | Up to 16,000 jobs, nearly 1,500 betting shops, and 34 casinos |
| Cost of harm | More than £2.3 billion in economic losses; up to £669 million in fiscal costs | Not addressed |
| Public opinion | 43% back higher taxes on high-street betting shop slots; 11% back a cut | Not addressed |
Where the debate stands before the Budget
The letter is the first organised push from Labour backbenchers since the industry began lobbying against a rise. The BGC launched its Back Our Betting Shops campaign on 28 September. Rank chief executive Richard Harris warned that about a third of Rank’s estate would close if the rate doubled to 40%.
Racing is also exposed. Bookmaker sponsorship of British races fell 17% this year, and Regulus Partners estimates a 40% rate would cost the sport £92 million a year. Betfred founder Fred Done has said the company would walk away from its sponsorship of the five British Classics if the Budget raises MGD.
Healey will set out his decision on MGD, if any, when he delivers the Budget on 28 October.
