On the River: Adult Gaming Centres, Liberty and Harm

12 Sept

Heavy-handed regulations and taxes on Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) are shrinking the safer, in-person gambling sector and pushing consumers into black markets.
AGCs are subject to an eye-watering effective tax rate of 66%, as well as a £2 stake cap and the “80/20 rule” that mandates low-demand machines occupy 80% of floor space.
Despite not serving alcohol, AGCs also pay at least £1,900 annually in licensing and operating fees - 80% more than the highest alcohol license.
These burdensome taxes and regulations make physical gambling venues less profitable, and they have declined by 23% since 2018. In contrast, online gambling has surged, generating £6.9 billion in Gross Gambling Yield (GGY).
This undermines efforts to tackle problem gambling. Online platforms show problem gambling rates of 18% of users, compared to 5.8% for in-person venues, while black markets lack protections altogether.
Yet proposals backed by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to raise Machine Games Duty from 25% to 50% would make matters worse - shutting down safer venues and pushing more players online or into black markets.
Alongside lifting pressure on AGCs, this paper calls for the Gambling Commission to be reformed from first principles, since its intrusive checks are pushing gamblers towards black markets.

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