Burnham’s Business Rate Reform Targets Adult Gaming Centres to Subsidise Hospitality

Just days into his tenure, UK leader Andy Burnham has unveiled a sweeping economic plan that cuts business rates for the hospitality sector by 20%, funded through higher taxes on Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs). Burnham explicitly singled out AGCs as causing social harm, grouping them with vape shops as high-street businesses that, in his view, contribute little to local communities.

The precise structure of the new tax remains unclear, but Burnham’s track record as Manchester Mayor offers clues. During that role, he supported local council campaigns to curb new AGC openings and sought expanded planning powers for local authorities. This aligns closely with proposals from the Social Market Foundation (SMF), which recommended doubling the Machine Games Duty on Category B machines from 20% to 40%.

Industry bodies have reacted with alarm. Bacta, the trade association for the UK’s low-stake gaming sector, warned that such a hike would effectively be “a plan to close venues rather than a plan to raise funds.” The organisation stressed that the economic damage would extend well beyond high-street betting, striking seaside towns, social clubs, piers, family entertainment centres, bingo halls, and the entire supply chain of manufacturers, machine suppliers, and small businesses.

Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, echoed these concerns, stating that job losses from the tax rise would be significant and that high streets would be weakened as a result. Bacta accused the SMF of “fundamentally misunderstanding how land-based venues operate,” and dismissed the proposal’s attempt to separate Category B and Category C machines as “politically convenient but economically incoherent.”

Political Backing and Calls for Further Controls

Labour MP Dawn Butler has praised Burnham’s direction but argued the government should go further. “I’m pleased Andy Burnham recognises the campaign against adult gaming centres, which can cause real social harm,” she said, adding that she is “campaigning to scrap Aim to Permit to give local authorities the power to stop the spread of betting shops, casinos and AGCs on our high streets.”

Butler has long pushed for tighter rules on the “Aim to Permit” mechanism, which currently limits councils’ ability to reject licence applications. In a previous House of Commons debate, she noted that such venues “set up knowing other shops don’t want to be there” and argued that offering free refreshments undermines neighbouring businesses like coffee shops.

Broader Implications for the Land-Based Sector

Supporters of tighter regulation, including Councillor Cuncliffe, are demanding that cumulative impact assessments carry more weight and that applicants be required to demonstrate genuine demand for new venues. The shifting political landscape suggests that the tax on machines may be only one part of a wider clampdown.

While the government has yet to confirm the full scope of its policy, Burnham’s opening salvo has already drawn a sharp line between the hospitality sector—seen as deserving relief—and the AGC industry, which is now squarely in the crosshairs of Labour’s economic and social agenda. Industry observers note that if the government pursues further tax hikes without a nuanced approach, the consequences could ripple far beyond the high street, affecting communities and supply chains across the UK.