All-night slot machine shops and casinos could face a £460m [$610m] tax rise if Andy Burnham acts on his concerns about the gambling industry as prime minister, after an influential thinktank found the policy would have public support.
Known by some in the gambling sector as “slot sheds”, adult gaming centres (AGCs) have flooded UK high streets in recent years, disproportionately targeting economically deprived areas.
But while online casinos were hit with a tax increase in Rachel Reeves’s November budget, duty on the physical slot machines available in AGCs was left untouched.
Burnham is widely tipped to oust Reeves as chancellor if he becomes prime minister.
