Britain's bingo halls and casinos are at risk if Andy Burnham commits to a £460m hike on gambling taxes, according to Rank Group, owner of Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo. Richard Harris, chief executive of the FTSE 250 firm, stated on Thursday that such tax proposals continue to cast clouds over the regulated industry.
Rank Group, which paid over £225m in taxes last year, warned the government against further tax increases on the gambling industry. The company believes any increase to Machine Games Duty (MGD) would further impact venue viability for both Grosvenor and Mecca, potentially leading to a reduction in tax receipts within 12 months.
A left-wing think tank had previously speculated that Andy Burnham, ahead of his appointment as Prime Minister, could raise £460m by increasing the tax on slot and fruit machines from 20 to 40 per cent. Despite the government scrapping a tax on physical bingo halls earlier this year, the popularity of gambling machines at Mecca Bingo sites means the firm could still be affected by such a tax hike.
Rank Group reported a five per cent increase in gaming revenue to £835m in the year to June, though pre-tax profit decreased by 15 per cent to £39m. Gaming machine revenue at Mecca jumped by six per cent, making up 42 per cent of the business's gaming turnover for the year.