Andrew Ludlow, Group Chief Executive at Boomerang Digital, has been one of the industry’s leading pioneers in a career that has spanned four decades. At Boomerang, he is driving a new wave of ground-breaking innovation that will deliver growth, employment and a boom for Britain’s high street businesses. But will the Government play its part? The tax rise and assault on AGCs in terms of business rates is a bitter pill, yet Ludlow keeps his focus on growth. The Government, he says, must offer a pathway to keep businesses like Boomerang confident to continue investing in people, technology and innovation, and of course, the revival of the high street.
Growth needs more than a slogan
Now that the Chancellor has delivered his Budget, there is a fairly simple test to apply. Does it genuinely give businesses the confidence to invest, employ people and grow?
On the plus side the Government has avoided broad increases in Income Tax, National Insurance and Corporation Tax, there is some support for household energy and fuel costs, as well as measures designed to support investment.
But from a land-based gaming perspective, there are decisions which are difficult to reconcile with the Government’s repeated commitment to growing the economy and rebuilding the high street.
From April 2027, the higher rate of Machine Games Duty will increase from 20 percent to 25 percent for Cat B machines.
Clearly, given that significantly higher rates had been advocated, the outcome could have been worse.
Our trade associations deserve credit for the work they have done in making the industry’s case, but let’s not confuse avoiding something worse with a good outcome. A five-percentage point increase represents a 25 percent uplift in the rate of MGD.
Apply taxation consistently
The other announcement which concerns me is the decision to remove AGCs from the preferential retail, hospitality, and leisure business rates multipliers from April 2027.
The Government says revenue from higher MGD will help support the business rates freeze for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses, while at the same time excluding AGCs from that support.
Our industry is helping fund support for the high street while parts of it are being told they don’t qualify for that same support! AGCs are physical high street businesses. They employ people, pay rent and rates, invest in their premises and purchase goods and services from an important UK supply chain.
Government is absolutely entitled to make decisions about taxation. What I believe it must do, however, is apply those decisions consistently and on the evidence rather than simply treating gambling as a convenient source of additional revenue.
Boomerang invests in people, technology, and new products, but our customers also need the confidence and the capital to invest too.
When taxation and operating costs increase, operators have choices to make. Refurbishments can get delayed. Machine replacement cycles can become longer. Technology investments can be reconsidered all of which flows through the supply chain.
The need for certainty
Businesses need certainty and the industry is right to highlight the damage caused by repeatedly reopening the taxation debate.
Even where a business avoids the worst possible outcome, months of speculation can stall decisions and reduce investment.
We can plan around difficult but sensible parameters. It is much harder to invest confidently when those parameters continually move.
The same cumulative effect applies when the Budget is viewed through the prism of an employer.
The National Living Wage will rise by 3.9 percent to £13.21 an hour next April. Good businesses should want their people to benefit when the business succeeds, but employment costs cannot be viewed individually. Employers are already absorbing higher National Insurance costs, wage inflation, pensions, regulation, and other operating expenses. Each additional cost influences decisions about recruitment, salary increases, productivity and investment.
There is always a point at which asking employers to contribute more can start delivering the opposite of the intended outcome.
The other side of the growth equation is the consumer. The Government has provided some useful support through energy measures and the extension of the fuel duty cut. Income Tax and National Insurance rates have not increased.
Recognise responsible investment
But, tax thresholds remain frozen, so as wages rise more income is gradually pulled into taxation. That matters to every consumer facing business because leisure spending comes from disposable income.
Our customers need confidence to invest, but their customers also need confidence to spend. You need both if you genuinely want sustainable growth.
Nobody in our industry should argue
that gambling should be exempt from appropriate taxation or robust regulation. I certainly don’t, but there needs to be a sensible balance.
The land-based sector employs people, invests in physical premises, supports high streets and seaside economies, and contributes to a wider supply chain of manufacturers, technology companies, and service businesses.
Those characteristics should matter when policy is being made.
The Government now has an opportunity to provide some stability.
The tax debate should not simply begin again ahead of the next Budget. It should also recognise responsible investment when looking at the wider regulatory agenda and forthcoming consultations. As Bacta has put it, perhaps it is time for a little more carrot and considerably less stick.
Allow businesses to plan
But there is also a responsibility on us as an industry.
We now know the position. That should allow businesses to plan with a greater level of certainty and, where they can, continue investing in the gaming offer, their venues, technology, and the overall customer
experience.
If we want to remain relevant to consumers and demonstrate our value to Government and local communities, we must keep improving the product, the environment, and the experience we offer.
That is certainly how Boomerang will approach it: we will continue investing in new products, technology and solutions that help operators improve the customer experience, operate more efficiently, and create stronger businesses.
The fundamental point remains – there is a difference between taxing an industry and taxing its ability to invest. If Government genuinely wants growth, it needs businesses confident enough to take risk, employ people and invest for the future.
And equally, businesses now need to take the certainty they have, make the right decisions, and keep moving forward.
Growth needs more than a slogan; it needs the conditions and the confidence to make it happen.
Originally published on Coinslot on November 2, 2026. Republished with permission.