Britain’s bingo halls and casinos will become “collateral damage” if John Healey increases taxes on slot machines in his first budget next month, the boss of one of Britain’s biggest gambling companies has warned.
Richard Harris, who runs the Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos operator Rank, urged the chancellor to avoid “reckless” tax rises on land-based gambling, which he argued would lead to venue closures and job losses.
Speculation around the budget on October 28 has focused on potential increases in the rate of machine games duty, which applies to slot machines, electronic roulette and fruit machines.
The Social Market Foundation think tank estimates that up to £458 million [$613 million] could be raised by increasing duty to 40 per cent on the so-called category B machines played at casinos, adult gaming centres, betting shops, bingo halls and social members’ clubs.
