16 Oct 2026
UK Gambling Firms Deliver Warnings on Machine Games Duty Proposals Amid Recent Revenue Growth
On 15 October 2026 Entain, the company behind Ladbrokes and Coral, together with Rank Group, operator of Grosvenor casinos and Mecca bingo, issued formal warnings to the government about planned rises in machine games duty that are expected to appear in the autumn Budget due on 28 October, and these warnings stated that the changes would trigger venue closures, job losses and lower levels of investment while the firms simultaneously reported positive trading figures for the third quarter of the year.
The statements came at a time when both operators had just recorded increases in their UK net gaming revenues, yet the companies emphasised that the cumulative effect of recent and proposed tax adjustments could still produce significant operational pressures across their land-based estates.
Details of the Warnings Issued on 15 October 2026
Entain and Rank Group presented their concerns directly to officials, highlighting that higher machine games duty rates would reduce the financial viability of many high-street venues, and they noted that closures would follow because the additional tax burden could not be offset by existing revenue streams in every location, while job reductions would occur as staffing levels are adjusted to match lower margins and investment in refurbishments or new sites would be scaled back accordingly.
These points were made even though the autumn Budget had not yet been delivered, and the companies used their public trading updates to draw attention to the potential downstream effects on employment and the broader retail gambling infrastructure that relies on machine income.
Revenue Performance Reported for Q3 2026
Entain recorded a 4 percent rise in group-wide net gaming revenues during the third quarter of 2026, and the company pointed to stronger contributions from its UK and Ireland operations as a key factor supporting that growth, whereas Rank Group reported a 5 percent increase on a like-for-like basis over the same period, and both sets of figures were released in the same trading statements that carried the duty warnings.
Observers note that these revenue gains occurred after the remote gaming duty increase that took effect in April 2026, when the rate moved from 21 percent to 40 percent, and the operators indicated that their digital channels had absorbed much of that earlier adjustment while land-based machine revenues remained exposed to the next round of proposed changes.
Background on the April 2026 Remote Gaming Duty Rise
The April 2026 adjustment to remote gaming duty formed part of a wider sequence of fiscal measures affecting the sector, and the companies referenced that previous rise when discussing why further increases to machine games duty would compound existing cost pressures, while their Q3 2026 results showed that online segments had continued to expand despite the higher rate that had been in place for several months by then.
Data from the trading updates revealed that the shift in remote duty had not prevented overall revenue growth in the most recent quarter, yet the operators argued that machine-based activities in physical venues operate under different cost structures that leave less room for additional taxation without corresponding reductions in site numbers or staffing.
Stated Consequences for Venues, Employment and Investment
According to the warnings, venue closures would concentrate in locations where machine revenue forms a large share of total income, and job losses would follow directly from those closures as well as from any efficiency measures implemented at remaining sites, while reduced investment would limit upgrades to gaming equipment and customer facilities that had previously been planned for 2027 and beyond.
The companies presented these outcomes as the direct result of the proposed duty increases rather than as general forecasts, and they tied the projections specifically to the autumn Budget measures expected on 28 October 2026, noting that the timing would affect budgeting cycles already underway for the next financial year.
Conclusion
The events of 15 October 2026 therefore combined reported revenue growth for Entain and Rank Group with explicit cautions about the effects of higher machine games duty, and the operators positioned their Q3 2026 figures alongside the warnings to illustrate that recent performance had not removed the need for government consideration of the land-based sector's operating conditions before finalising the Budget on 28 October. Coverage from ITV News summarised the statements released by both firms on that date, confirming the details of the duty concerns and the accompanying revenue data.