<- Back to homepage

Would a gambling tax rise in the budget really shut shops and cost jobs?

Source: The Guardian Business - Published: 02 Oct 2026 08:00

Most of the betting industry is urging the chancellor not to double slot machine duty to raise up to £460m more a yearGambling industry kingpins are fuming about reports that the chancellor, John Healey, is considering increasing taxes on high-street slot machines in his first budget.The influential Social Market Foundation thinktank, the most vocal advocate for a rise in machine games duty (MGD), from 20% to 40%, thinks the measure could raise between £275m and £460m annually, on top of the roughly £610m collected last year. Continue reading...