Machine Games Duty Increase Reaction It doesn't seem that long ago that the bingo world celebrated the removal of Bingo Duty and looked forward to a brighter future. In a short space of time, the bingo world has changed its tune as speculation mounts over a new challenge facing the UK bingo scene.
The UK bingo industry has reacted with growing concern to reports that the Government is considering a sharp increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD) at next month’s Budget, with operators warning that a higher rate could put clubs, investment and jobs at risk.
The most widely discussed proposal would increase the standard MGD rate on Category B machines from 20% to 40%, although the Government has not confirmed that it will adopt the proposal. Chancellor John Healey is due to deliver the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026.
The potential increase has prompted unusually strong warnings from the UK's major bingo operators and the Bingo Association, particularly because the Government abolished bingo duty earlier this year.
Bingo was given a tax break – now operators fear another tax hit
The industry's frustration has an important background. From April 2026, the Government abolished Bingo Duty, a move welcomed across the sector and intended to give operators more scope to invest in clubs.
Government documents confirm that the abolition of Bingo Duty formed part of a wider gambling-tax package, alongside the increase in Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40%.
The Bingo Association says its members responded by increasing investment in their venues.
Chief executive Nicole Garrett said:
“Less than six months ago, the Government abolished Bingo Duty and asked our industry to invest.”
She added:
“We have responded decisively. Across our membership, operators are investing more than £50m in bingo clubs this year, more than double the amount saved through the abolition of Bingo Duty.”
Garrett's warning is that increasing MGD now could undermine the effect of that earlier tax change.
“That change has made a real difference, helping businesses invest in their venues, customers, and communities. However, the sector’s recovery remains fragile.”
And she delivered perhaps the strongest warning yet from the trade body:
“We do not believe it is the intention of those advocating an increase in Machine Games Duty to force bingo clubs to close. However, that would be the inevitable outcome for many clubs if MGD on Category B machines were increased.”
The Bingo Association has also taken its message to LinkedIn. It described its campaign as “Not on our 2026 Bingo Card”, highlighting the industry's claim that bingo clubs support around 7,000 jobs and contribute more than £125 million in tax each year.
Rank: “Any increase in MGD puts pressure on the viability of venues”
The most detailed financial warning has come from Rank Group, owner of Mecca Bingo.
Rank chief executive Richard Harris told investors that gaming machines are an important component of the economics of both its bingo and casino businesses.
MGD is currently 20% for the standard category of machines, according to HMRC.
Harris said:
“Any increase in MGD puts pressure on the viability of venues.”
He went further, warning that the consequences would extend beyond operators themselves.
“Unfortunately, any increase in MGD leads to fewer venues, lower employment, and reduced tax receipts within 12 months.”
Harris also described Rank's clubs in terms that have subsequently been highlighted by the Bingo Association on LinkedIn:
“These are genuine community assets.”
Rank has warned that a move to 40% could add around £35 million a year to its costs.
The company has said between a quarter and a third of its venues could become unviable under such an increase, with a significant proportion potentially closing. Recent reporting has put the potential employment impact at around 2,000 Rank workers.
Mecca's machine revenue makes the issue particularly important
The debate is not simply about another line of taxation appearing on bingo companies' accounts.
Rank's latest results show just how important electronic gaming has become to the economics of its venues.
In its full-year results, Rank described gaming machines and electronic terminals as productive assets supporting venue profitability. It said slots account for around 44% of group revenue, while tablet-based play now accounts for around 80% of bingo revenue at Mecca.
That creates an awkward policy question for bingo operators.
The Government can argue that it is targeting gaming-machine activity rather than bingo itself. But operators argue that the financial contribution from machines helps support the wider club proposition, including the bingo game, staff, premises and investment.
That is why the industry's reaction has been considerably stronger than simply objecting to another increase in the tax bill.
Buzz Bingo: even a smaller increase would hurt
Buzz Bingo chief executive Dominic Mansour has also warned that bingo could be caught in the crossfire if ministers target higher-stakes gaming machines elsewhere in the gambling industry.
Mansour told This Is Money that:
“Unless bingo clubs are protected from such reform, the viability of bingo in the UK will be at risk.”
He added:
“The numbers for Britain’s bingo could truly be up.”
Mansour has argued that even an increase from 20% to 25% would leave around a third of Buzz Bingo's estate loss-making.
He said this:
“would not only put our investment programme at risk but would lead to undoubtedly difficult decisions about clubs and jobs.”
And he warned that a blanket increase to 40%:
“risks undoing the positive impact the abolition of bingo duty was meant to achieve”.
For Buzz, the concern is therefore not limited to the headline 40% figure.
The operator believes that even a considerably smaller increase could alter the economics of some clubs.
Why bingo is arguing it is different from the machines being targeted
This is where the industry's lobbying campaign becomes particularly significant.
The proposal to increase MGD has been linked to efforts to target higher-stakes gaming machines, particularly in adult gaming centres and betting shops.
The Social Market Foundation has estimated that increasing the tax on Category B machines to 40% could raise between £275 million and £458 million in additional annual revenue, depending on the precise structure of the change.
But UK bingo operators argue that applying the same increase to bingo clubs would produce unintended consequences.
Mansour described bingo clubs as:
“local, social and low risk.”
He said:
“For some members, a visit to their local club is a cheap fun night out with friends. For others, it may be one of the few times in the week when they know they will see familiar faces.”
And he added:
“In an increasingly fragmented world, bingo clubs have become the heart of communities.”
Bingo operators argue that where the Government wants to raise taxes matters as much as how much it raises them.
The “collateral damage” argument
Rank's Harris has made a similar distinction.
He said he did not believe ministers actually wanted to close bingo clubs. However, he warned that the sector could become collateral damage if the Government's main objective is to target other forms of gaming.</p>
“The risk is they are targeting a specific part of the gambling sector they do not like. The risk to us is that we are collateral damage.”
Harris also explained the economics in blunt terms:
“If you increase the tax rate, that moves both casinos and bingo halls to be loss-making. If they become loss-making, over time we are going to have to close those venues. That is less jobs and investment.”
His argument is that the Treasury should not measure the success of an MGD increase purely by calculating the additional duty collected from machines.
If clubs close, operators would also stop paying other taxes and charges, while employees would no longer generate PAYE and National Insurance contributions.</p>
Harris summed up the industry's argument:
“Within 12 months, if the tax rate goes up, the tax take goes down.”
That claim is an industry argument rather than an established outcome, but it is now central to the lobbying campaign.
The wider gambling industry is pushing back
The bingo sector is not alone in raising concerns.
Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Grainne Hurst has warned that an increase to 40% could put thousands of jobs and high-street businesses at risk. The BGC has cited EY modelling suggesting that nearly 1,500 betting shops and as many as 34 casinos could be affected, with up to 16,000 jobs potentially at risk across the wider sector.
Those figures relate to the wider gambling industry rather than bingo alone, so they should not be interpreted as a forecast of bingo closures.
But they demonstrate why the potential MGD change has become one of the most con
tentious gambling-tax issues ahead of the Budget.
The Government has not confirmed the increase…yet
Despite the industry's warnings, one fact remains: the Government has not yet announced an increase in Machine Games Duty.
A parliamentary answer on 15 September said that tax decisions would be announced at fiscal events, while the Treasury has declined to comment on speculation surrounding possible changes.
It is also worth noting that the bingo duty decision by the government caught many of us by surprise, with predictions of Rachel Reeves killing the bingo industry made by many, including us.
There is also an important distinction between proposals to target higher-stakes machines and a blanket increase covering every category
HMRC currently lists MGD at 5% for Type 1 machines, 20% for the standard rate and 25% for machines where the maximum cost of play can exceed £5.
The final Budget announcement will determine which machines, venues and rates are actually affected.
A difficult few weeks for Britain's bingo clubs
The bingo industry's reaction nevertheless tells its own story.
The sector entered 2026 celebrating the abolition of Bingo Duty and talking about renewed investment in clubs. The Bingo Association says operators are investing more than £50 million this year, while Buzz has been expanding and modernising its estate and Rank has continued investing in Mecca.
Now the industry is having to lobby against another potential tax increase only months later.
That explains why bingo's leading figures have become increasingly direct.
For Nicole Garrett, who recently interviewed with BingoDaily, the concern is that the sector is still rebuilding.
For Dominic Mansour, the issue is whether clubs can remain economically viable.
And for Richard Harris, the concern is that a tax designed to target one part of the gambling industry could affect another.
The final decision will come from the Chancellor on 28 October.
Until then, the bingo industry's message is clear: if Machine Games Duty is increased, bingo operators want ministers to recognise that the economic impact will not stop at the machines themselves.
Ben has been an massive bingo enthusiast and fan since playing at the seaside as a kid. Dedicated to bringing you the latest and best bingo news from the UK
