John Healey's autumn budget raised duty on slot machine takings from 20 per cent to 25 per cent and removed business rates discounts for adult gaming centres (AGCs) in England, moves he framed as supporting high street renewal. However, hundreds of AGCs operated by major slot farm companies Merkur and Admiral have obtained bingo licences that may allow them to retain the discounted rates, according to Guardian analysis of Gambling Commission records.
The venues advertise bingo in shop windows but operate primarily as slot machine arcades, with bingo available only on tablets in corner areas. In one case captured on covert film, staff told the Guardian nobody used the bingo tablets and they appeared non-functional. More than 200 arcades are licensed as bingo venues despite appearing geared toward slot play, Guardian analysis suggests, though some data duplication makes exact numbers unclear.
Paul Turner-Mitchell, a business rates expert at Altus Group, said the tax change outcome would depend on how the Treasury defined an AGC and how local councils enforced the rules. "A bingo licence alone does not settle its business rates treatment," he said.
Labour MP Alex Ballinger, co-chair of the gambling reform all-party parliamentary group, urged the government to close the loophole. He called on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to proceed with proposals to tighten licensing rules under consultation.
Merkur and Admiral did not respond to requests for comment. Joseph Cullis, president of arcade operators' trade body Bacta, said the tax changes would force businesses to reconsider investment and make difficult decisions about their future.