Genting Casinos Announces Coventry Closure Citing Cumulative Cost Increases and Potential MGD Rise
Genting Casinos is closing its Coventry venue, opened in 2012 with 51 staff, due to rising employment, energy, rates, compliance and taxation costs that have reduced sector margins. The operator warns a potential MGD doubling, addressed in the 28 October Budget, could trigger multiple venue closures and hundreds of job losses. This follows prior duty hikes on remote gaming and betting.
SCCG Take — Layered cost and duty increases are accelerating rationalisation among UK land-based operators, with risks of lower tax revenue and expanded illegal activity if further MGD rises proceed.
Genting Casinos has announced the closure of its Coventry land-based casino. The venue opened in 2012 and staffs 51 people. The operator cited commercial pressures that have made the site no longer commercially viable to sustain trading.
Genting Casinos pointed to substantial increases in employment costs, business rates, energy costs, regulatory compliance expenditure, and gaming taxation. These cumulative pressures have significantly reduced margins across the sector. The company stated that the closure demonstrates the real-world consequences of a business environment in which costs continue to rise while taxation places increasing pressure on commercial viability.
Mounting Concerns Ahead of 28 October Budget
The announcement also referenced the possibility that Chancellor John Healey will increase Machine Gaming Duty (MGD) in his first Budget on 28 October. Discussions have intensified around doubling rates from the lower rate of 5% to 10%, the standard rate of 20% to 40%, and the higher rate of 25% to 50%.
This follows last year’s Budget when then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% and announced General Betting Duty rising from 15% to 25% starting April 2027. Fred Done, founder of Betfred, has predicted high-street betting “will become extinct by 2030”. Genting Casinos warned that an MGD increase will force the closure of multiple venues across the country, resulting in the loss of hundreds of skilled jobs and reducing economic activity in towns and cities where casinos form part of the leisure, hospitality and night-time economy.
Such closures would also reduce investment in local communities, diminish consumer choice and ultimately reduce tax revenues from a sector that already makes a significant contribution to the UK economy. The operator further alluded to organised crime becoming more prominent in the vacuum left from pressures on the regulated gambling sector. The development was reported by SBC News.
Reporting: SBC News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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