The five-percentage-point increase is below a think-tank’s proposed doubling. British racing’s governing body warns of a possible £57 million annual loss and plans urgent engagement with the government to reduce the impact.
UK Chancellor John Healey announced an increase in Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25% in his 28 October 2026 budget, the Guardian said. The five-percentage-point rise applies to profits from fixed-odds gaming machines in betting shops.
Earlier in 2026, the Social Market Foundation, a think-tank, had recommended doubling the rate. Healey’s announced increase is substantially smaller.
| Position | Rate |
|---|---|
| Before the budget announcement | 20% |
| Announced by Healey | 25% |
| Proposed by the Social Market Foundation | 40% |
The UK has around 5,500 betting shops. The average shop contributes approximately £25,000 a year to racing through levy payments and payments for rights to live coverage and data.
Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, the sport’s governing body, said betting through high-street shops provides nearly a third of racing’s £350 million annual income. He warned that racing could lose £57 million a year, citing what he described as independent modelling shared with the UK Treasury before the budget.
Dunshea warned that “hundreds, if not thousands” of betting shops could close. The change could affect prize money, the viability of racecourses, thousands of jobs, horse-welfare projects and research. Closures would also affect fans whose main contact with racing is a visit to their local bookmaker.
The government plans a 26 November start for suspensions covering 101 food and agricultural products, including garlic, gherkins and plant-based milk.
3 min
Analysis
Gideon Salutin, co-author of the Social Market Foundation report advocating a larger increase, said the organisation welcomed the rise as reflecting the greater harm it associates with this form of gambling. But he described the increase as relatively limited and said the think-tank remained sceptical that it would significantly affect industry behaviour.
Dunshea said the British Horseracing Authority would urgently engage with the government to establish how they could work together to reduce the impact on racing.
The Budget preserves the £20,000 annual cash ISA allowance and proposes a 24% rate on savings and rental income for basic-rate taxpayers from April 2027.
2 min
Under the announced Your First Home terms, eligible first-time buyers purchasing qualifying new-build homes in England can seek a 20% equity loan with a deposit from 2.5%. Applications are scheduled to open in February 2027.
4 min
