Labour MPs have ramped up the pressure on UK Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey to increase Machine Games Duty (MGD) in this month’s Budget.
A total of 90 MPs have signed a letter written by Alex Ballinger, a Labour Party MP who has emerged as a leading critic of the gambling industry since winning a seat in the House of Commons at the 2024 election.
He called for an increase on the tax on Category B gaming machines to 40%. These machines are common in betting shops, bingo halls and adult gaming centres (AGCs).
Ballinger’s primary target is AGCs and he claimed that “47% are located in the most deprived fifth of the country, while the most deprived local authorities have more than six times as many per head as the least deprived”.
