When the UK government announced their gambling tax hikes in November, many of the column inches were devoted to the eye-watering rise in remote betting duty, which was effectively double from 21% to 40%.
But the retail sector, be it high street bookmakers, bingo halls or casinos, generally avoided the worst of things.
Retail Betting Duty was frozen at 15%, Machine Game Duty – charged on machines like roulette terminals – was halted at 20% and Bingo Duty was abolished altogether; a change that will come into effect from April 2026.
Will that spark a renaissance in in-person gambling? Bally’s, the multi-national betting outfit, is certainly hoping so as they prep the relaunch of their first land-based casino in the UK.
State of Play
The Gambling Commission published their industry state-of-play in November, looking at a wide range of data points for the 2024/25 financial year.
Within the report, it was revealed that the total gross gambling yield for the land-based sector increased by 3.6%, year on year, to £4.8 billion – and that’s despite the number of betting shops and ‘licensed gambling premises on UK soil falling.
In amongst, in-person bingo saw a GGY return of £650 million, which was an increase of 3.5% on the 2023/24 data. The niche had celebrated the axing of bingo tax back in November, with one industry official describing the move as a ‘vote of confidence’ in land-based bingo.
William Chilcott, of the Godden Organisation – they operate a number of bingo halls across the UK, commented:
“It was very welcome news for a sector that’s had a couple of difficult years with rising energy costs, employment costs and a real vote of confidence from this government in our sector.
“It’s reflective of the unique community bingo is and how important a role it can play in towns like Hastings.”
Arcades and adult gaming centres both yielded positive results as well, so despite a general sense of pessimism in the sector, there are numerous reasons to be positive.
That was something that Paddy Power leant into last year when they launched their retail sportsbook at London’s Hippodrome Casino, which has been designed to ape similar properties in Las Vegas.
Last summer, Rank Casinos rolled out sports betting at 38 of their properties, which came as a result of a relaxing of retail licensing rules as part of the UK Gambling Review.
In November, Japanese firm GENDA Inc paid a mammoth £18.6 million to acquire the portfolio of Inspired Entertainment, whose offering included more than 11,000 gaming machines housed across 170 adult gaming centres in the UK.
In January, Grosvenor announced expansions at their two flagship Birmingham casinos, rolling out 25 new slot machines at each with more than 200 games in total added to their floors.
To celebrate the launch, Grosvenor headed a £50,000 slots league, which offered players across four of their West Midlands casinos to battle it out on the leaderboard in a bid to win some big cash prizes.
And now Bally’s are in on the action too, relaunching the former Aspers casino The Gate in Newcastle city centre.
Opening The Gate
Bally’s, the American firm, purchased the rights to The Gate as part of their maiden foray into the UK land-based sector.
According to the Evening Chronicle, who have been behind the scenes at The Gate prior to its opening night party on Saturday, have revealed that punters can expect an array of slot machines and gaming tables, alongside 38 e-roulette tables and a dedicated poker room.
And Bally’s, famous for their sportsbook properties in the United States, have also installed a number of big screens, upon which the latest sporting action – including the Premier League games of the beloved Newcastle United and Sunderland – will be shown.
As well as an American diner-style restaurant, which will be open until 3am on selected evenings, Bally’s are also giving patrons to their Newcastle casino a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas as part of their grand opening.
The venue, which will be open 24/7, has been described by general manager David Tait as ‘phenomenal’ and an ‘amazing refurb’. “We’re incredibly proud to be bringing the Bally’s brand to Newcastle and re-launching our first UK flagship venue in such a vibrant city.”
Aspers, meanwhile, seem to be retreating from the UK retail sector after experiencing some financial difficulties. They have sold properties in Stratford (London) and Milton Keynes to Genting and Merkur respectively in recent times.