Gordon Brown Puts UK Gaming Machine Tax Back on Agenda

A proposal to raise up to £500 million from gaming machines has reopened the UK gambling tax debate. The idea comes as the government is also preparing tighter rules for high-street gambling venues.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown raised the idea on BBC Radio 4’s Today program on August 26 as Britain prepared for another increase in household energy costs. He said extra tax on gaming machines could provide up to £500 million for a crisis and resilience fund.

Gaming Machine Revenue Comes Into Focus

Brown did not set out a proposed duty rate. He said the measure could be designed without affecting bingo halls or pubs, pointing instead to adult entertainment centers.

Machine Games Duty is currently charged on net machine takings at three rates. HMRC applies a 5% lower rate, a 20% standard rate and a 25% higher rate, depending on the cost to play and prize structure.

The proposal would reopen a part of gambling taxation left unchanged in the 2025 Budget. Remote Gaming Duty instead rose from 21% to 40% on April 1, 2026. A 25% rate for most remote betting will follow in April 2027, while remote bets on UK horse racing remain at 15%.

Retail Closures Put Racing Funding at Risk

The British Horseracing Authority says betting shops remain important to the sport because racing receives money through the statutory levy and media rights agreements. Chief executive Brant Dunshea said the BHA wants to engage with the government over the role of betting shops and racing.

The Betting and Gaming Council has also warned about higher machine taxes. Its earlier modeling of a separate proposal to double tax on category B machines estimated that more than 2,900 betting shops could close. The group also projected over 21,000 job losses and a £70 million reduction in racing income from levy and media rights.

Those figures are industry estimates tied to a different tax proposal. They nevertheless show why changes to MGD are closely watched by retail operators and racing.

High Street Rules Are Also Changing

On August 11, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to scrap the Gambling Act’s “Aim to Permit” rule, which limits councils’ ability to refuse new betting shops. The government also wants adult gaming centers to require planning permission under proposals due to take effect from the start of 2027.

Brown’s tax idea is not government policy, and no rate or timetable has been announced. For the retail sector, that is the key line for now. The UK has already increased online gambling taxes sharply. A move on MGD would bring the tax debate directly to betting shops and could hit racing funding at the same time.