Call for urgent talks after gaming machines tax increaseBrant Dunshea: ‘thousands’ of betting shops may closeBrant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said on Wednesday that the sport’s ruling body will “urgently engage with the government to establish how we can work together to reduce the impact” after John Healey, in his first budget as chancellor, raised the duty on the profits from fixed-odds gaming machines in betting shops from 20% to 25%.The widely expected rise in machine games duty (MGD) was well below the doubling of the rate, from 20% to 40%, recommended this year by the Social Market Foundation thinktank, but Dunshea warned that the move could “still prove devastating for our sport” since it presented a “clear risk” that “hundreds, if not thousands” of betting shops nationwide faced closure as a result. Continue reading...