Machine Games Duty Figure Not Found in Source

Gideon Salutin, chief economist at the Social Market Foundation, wrote in a draft of the foundation's June report that they could not work out where the 500,000 pounds in high-rate Machine Games Duty income came from. The draft was published by Guido Fawkes on 20 October. The foundation did not verify the draft.

The published report, titled "Addressing the Harm", forms the basis of a campaign to raise the duty on Category B machines to 40 percent. Table 1 of the report shows high-rate income of 25 percent that Salutin could not trace, and names HMRC as the source.

HMRC statistical notes published on 30 September 2026 show that high-rate liabilities fell noticeably after 2019-20. On this data, the 500,000 pound figure in the report does not match any published HMRC series.

The foundation estimates that raising the Category B duty to 40 percent could bring in between 275 million and 458 million pounds. The industry's own calculation, however, assumes a higher increase of 5 percent. The trade body Betting and Gaming Council argues that this increase would bring in about 120 million pounds.

The report also proposes a new duty band for Category B machines. However, Machine Games Duty classifies machines by the cost of playing them, not by game category. The Treasury has not launched a consultation on machine duty rates.