It’s a budget that hasn’t gone down well in virtually every circle, but then it was always going to be that way. From the relentless and irritating kite-flying build up to within hours of the Chancellor’s speech when an OBR error leaked the Budget details, Rachel Reeves was doomed from the moment she stepped up to the despatch box. So, how does the budget shape up?
Hapless, hopeless, helpless – according to many observers Rachel Reeves is one or even all of these. But, in one area, thankfully for the amusements, gaming and gambling industry, she displayed all the characteristics of a Chancellor that really got the message.
You cannot tax high street businesses into growth.
When Reeves stated nine simple words – “no change to the taxes on in-person gambling” – it was probably the only time that this government had joined the dots and recognised that a rise in MGD would have had a far worse effect on arcades, FECs, bingo clubs, social clubs, and crucially pubs than any benefit a tax rise could bring to the Treasury.
It was one of last remaining vital lifelines for so many high street entertainment operations – the loss of which could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The sigh of relief around the industry was ‘palpable’ in the words of Bacta National Vice President Jeremy Godden when he made his annual speech to association’s members at the body’s Convention the day after the budget.
One can only imagine would the reaction was at the Bingo Association when the much maligned bingo duty finally had its head chopped off.
Now, it’s a small tax by tax standards, but MGD is a symbolic one. It does its job for the Treasury, signifies the import of a machine portfolio to the finances of so many different types of businesses – and insodoing it also makes one of the most important contributions to the Gambling Levy.
Reeves is a smarter cookie than some give her credit for; if a rise in MGD adds to the 25 pubs currently closing every week, takes money out of the business rates system, stops high street investment from arcadians, puts local people out of work, weakens the supply chain and reduces footfall on the high street…well you don’t need to be an economist to understand that model.
And to her credit Reeves is probably one of the few people within her own party that understood that model, and had the courage to push it through.
It was universally well received by all the trade bodies. No surprise there. But it was also regarded as a catalyst to push forward.
Peter Hannibal, CEO of the Gambling Business Group, saw the decision as a possible pathway towards more joined up thinking when it comes to taxation, legislation and regulation. He wants growth back on the agenda – something the Prime Minister and Chancellor have been chanting for sometime. If only the Gambling Minister and the regulator could understand that too.
And Bacta also saw an opening – it unveiled its 5 point plan to push for progressive change.
It’s amazing how no change at all can revive the spirits; it wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but who doesn’t feel heartened by a rainbow?
Well, UKHospitailty and BBPA, and with good reason. Both mauled the chancellor over her business rates revisions arguing they will put more pressure, not less, on high street businesses. And the rise in the minimum wage will likely serve to increase unemployment rather than create jobs.
Oddly, alongside Bacta, GBG and the Bingo Association, UKH and BBPA really did push hard for MGD and they celebrated that. But for a high street pub – 1,300 plus of which are closing this year – the two associations were desperately hoping for more.
The land based betting sector was given a pass, but its remote partners were the main target of tax attack. With remote gaming duty almost doubling, Reeves clearly saw online as the gambling harm culprit and they must pay the price for it.
That might back-fire in terms of forcing a migration of businesses to new jurisdictions and players to the black market. And worse, it might also impact returns to the Gambling Levy.
Then, of course, there’s the fiscal drag that will certainly hit customers and their leisure spend, the possible exit of businesses off the high street, a downgraded growth forecast, and prices expected to rise faster than planned – the chancellor clearly hasn’t pleased all the people all of the time.
But for once, in the tiny space of MGD and the vast expanse of a demoralised UK high street – the government has done something practical for the land based sector – it’s put the high street on a survival footing.
But it cannot walk away – there is still so much more for the Treasury to adjust and repair.
One small step for the machines sector may not be one giant leap for the high street – but it certainly helps.
A survival shot
Coinslot said… For once, in the tiny space of MGD and the vast expanse of a demoralised UK high street – the government has done something practical for the land based sector – it’s put the high street on a survival footing…
Originally published on Coinslot on December 1, 2025. Republished with permission.