The UK’s bingo clubs face a higher tax bill from April 2027 after the Chancellor used the Autumn Budget to raise Machine Games Duty (MGD) on higher-stake gaming machines. The Bingo Association, which represents land-based clubs, says the change will push dozens of venues into loss and has renewed its warning of closures this week.
MGD is charged on the takings from gaming machines in bingo halls, arcades, pubs and casinos. Under the measure announced on 28 October, the standard rate paid on most club machines will rise from 20% to 25% from 1 April 2027. HMRC’s tax information note confirms that the 25% rate will apply to any machine where the maximum charge to play is more than £1 or the maximum prize is more than £100. Lower-stake machines keep their current rate, which the Government says is intended to protect pubs and seaside arcades.
Months After Bingo Duty Was Scrapped
The timing has angered the sector. Bingo Duty, the 10% tax on bingo stakes in clubs, was abolished on 1 April 2026 after years of lobbying, a move operators said would free up money for refurbishments and new venues. The Association estimates that the abolition was worth around £22 million a year to clubs and that the MGD rise will claw back roughly £13 million of it.
In a statement issued on Budget day, the trade body said its own modelling, shared with the Treasury beforehand, shows the number of loss-making clubs rising to 77. It warned that the £50 million operators had committed to invest in clubs outside London and the South East this year would fall away, and that clubs in the Midlands and the North would be hit hardest.
Before the Budget, the Association had been fighting a campaign by a group of Labour MPs to lift the rate to 40%, a level it said would have left 102 clubs loss-making and threatened more than 3,000 jobs. The 25% outcome is less severe, but the trade body had asked for the rate to stay at 20%.
“Paying for Them”
Speaking to Bingo Daily on 8 November, Bingo Association chief executive Nicole Garrett said the sector had been praised for its community role only to be taxed for it. “Last year, we were community hubs, this year we are paying for them,” she said. The Association puts the number of clubs at risk of becoming unprofitable at 77 of the UK’s 239, with as many as 1,200 jobs potentially affected.
What It Means for Operators
The two largest chains both rely heavily on machine income. Buzz Bingo chief executive Dominic Mansour had warned earlier in the autumn that a rise to 25% would leave around a third of the company’s clubs loss-making, and the operator’s owner is already exploring a sale. At Rank Group’s Mecca Bingo, gaming machines generated £60.1 million of the £143.1 million taken in venues last year, so the extra five points of duty would cost roughly £3 million a year on current figures.
Investors appeared relieved that the rate was not doubled, and Rank’s shares rose after the announcement. For players, nothing changes immediately: the new rate does not take effect until April 2027, and it applies to machine play rather than to bingo tickets, which remain free of duty. The bigger risk is to the clubs themselves, with the Association saying it will now work through the impact with its members and press the Government for a long-term position on gambling taxation, according to the official announcement from the Bingo Association.
If you play in clubs as well as online, our bingo guides cover how the different formats work and what to look out for.
This post currently has no comments, be the first.
Leave a Comment