Casino executives warn doubling of machine games duty risks UK investment
Rank Group, Genting Casinos and the Hippodrome told a London panel that a potential MGD rise to 40% could halt land-based investment and cost thousands of jobs.
Senior figures from the UK casino sector warned on Wednesday that a possible doubling of machine games duty (MGD) could choke off investment and put jobs at risk, just as operators attempt to modernise their venues.
The warning came during a panel discussion at the Hippodrome Casino in London, featuring Rank Group chief executive Richard Harris, Genting Casinos chief operating officer Paul Willcock, Hippodrome executive chairman Simon Thomas, Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) chief executive Michael Kill and Regulus Partners partner Dan Waugh, according to iGaming Business.
Harris said Rank had closed four venues during his four and a half years in charge, a consequence he attributed to a combination of a high cost base, rising taxes and tightening regulation that had squeezed profitability and cash generation.
Willcock described the prospect of an MGD increase as "keeping us all awake", referring to the proposal — put forward by thinktank the Social Market Foundation and reported as a possible feature of the government's autumn budget — to raise the duty from 20% to 40%.
The sector has previously pushed back hard against the idea. In September, Betfred owner Fred Done said a rise of that scale would force the closure of 495 shops within a year, costing 2,575 jobs and roughly £67 million in lost tax revenue for the Exchequer.
Willcock argued that clarity from government would unlock spending rather than suppress it. "If we can get some relaxation or at least certainty on that, then investment will flow," he told the panel, pointing to Genting's recent global outlay of $5 billion on the Las Vegas Strip, $5 billion in New York and $3 billion in Singapore over five years. He added that the group was "itching to invest in the United Kingdom".
Thomas said operators needed confidence that regulatory and fiscal "playing conditions" would hold steady across the three-to-seven-year horizons typical of casino investment decisions. Harris summed up the position by noting that "profit is the source of future investment".
The panel welcomed the Gambling Commission's 2025 land-based modernisation reforms, which raised the permitted number of slot machines per casino from 20 to 80 and loosened ancillary betting rules. Harris said Rank had expanded its machine estate by around 65%, from 1,400 to 2,250 machines, including a £15 million investment in a single venue.
Waugh cautioned that the reforms still needed time to bed in, and that their success should be judged on whether they made casinos "better places to go to" and broadened the sector's appeal.
The industry has identified a prospective investment pipeline of roughly £200 million over the coming years, the panel said. Kill cited NTIA research showing 58% of respondents named a casino as their main reason for visiting an area, with 55% saying they would probably not have gone there otherwise.
The NTIA estimated that a tax rise could cost around 3,800 jobs nationally, directly and indirectly. A survey of 23 operators found 95.7% would cut staffing and 91.3% would reduce venue investment if MGD rose, while 60.9% said they might close a site outright.
Willcock noted that Genting employs about 3,500 people in the UK and requires six weeks of training before staff can work on a casino table, underlining the sector's case that it supports skilled, long-term employment rather than casual roles.