Details of the Warning Issued by Genting UK

Paul Willcock, chief executive of Genting UK which runs 32 casino venues across the country, has notified government officials that 13 of those sites could become unprofitable or unsustainable and face closure should the machine games duty rise from its current 20 percent level to 40 percent in the October 28 Budget, and this move would place roughly 900 jobs at risk while imposing an annual cost of approximately £16 million on the company which exceeds its post-tax profit of £13.5 million recorded for the previous year.

Those who have reviewed the figures note that the proposed change forms part of broader fiscal adjustments under consideration for the 2026 Budget, and operators received advance notice of the potential adjustment referenced in earlier Treasury discussions from July onward.

Parallel Announcement from Rank Group

Rank Group, the operator behind Grosvenor Casinos with its portfolio of 47 venues, has delivered a comparable assessment to Treasury and Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials indicating that up to 16 sites might close under the same doubled duty rate and that around 1,800 positions could be affected as a direct result.

Observers tracking the sector point out that both companies have shared their analyses directly with relevant departments ahead of the final Budget decisions, and the communications highlight the narrow margins within which many physical casino locations currently operate when machine gaming revenue forms a significant portion of overall income.

Financial Context and Employment Implications

Data supplied by Genting UK shows the projected £16 million annual burden would surpass the company's entire post-tax profit figure from the most recent reported year, and this gap leaves limited room for absorbing the increase without operational cutbacks at multiple locations, while the 900 positions identified represent a substantial share of the workforce tied to the 13 at-risk venues.

Rank Group's corresponding projection of 1,800 potential job losses across its estate follows similar logic because machine games duty applies uniformly to electronic gaming terminals that generate core revenue streams for these businesses, and the combined figures from the two operators illustrate the scale of exposure within the land-based casino segment.

Those who've examined comparable tax adjustments in other jurisdictions note that duty increases of this magnitude often trigger rapid reassessment of site viability, particularly for smaller or mid-sized venues where footfall and machine utilisation rates sit below peak thresholds.

Engagement with Government Departments

Both Genting UK and Rank Group have already submitted detailed briefings to Treasury and DCMS personnel, and these submissions contain venue-by-venue breakdowns along with employment data to support the closure estimates, while officials continue to evaluate the full range of revenue and regulatory impacts ahead of the October 28 announcement.

The process allows time for further modelling between now and Budget day, and industry participants have emphasised the importance of accurate data on how the doubled rate would interact with existing operating costs and regulatory obligations that apply to casino premises.

Conclusion

The warnings from Genting UK and Rank Group centre on concrete calculations of profitability thresholds and headcount reductions that would follow implementation of the 40 percent machine games duty rate, and these positions have been conveyed formally to the departments responsible for final policy decisions in the upcoming Budget.