Thousands of jobs across amusement centres could face the axe if Reeves raises gambling taxes, according to trade body Bacta. Reeves has already said she’s eyeing up whacking the sector…
Currently adult gaming centres and High Street Bingo venues directly employ 8,000 people and indirectly support 3,900 roles, according to a report from Centre for Economics and Business Research. Trade body Bacta’s President Joseph Cullis warned:
“This government claims to be on the side of small businesses, of growth and of hardworking people, yet if the Budget raises machine gaming duty to an un-survivable level, thousands will be forced to visit the Job Centre.”
Managing Director of independent arcade operator The Bollom Organisation William Bollom added:
“We are already struggling to survive with high energy costs, National Insurance contributions and the fact that people have less money to spend on leisure because of inflation and the wider shocks in the economy. Increasing machine game duty by even the smallest amount would be a hammer blow to my business and I honestly can’t see how I would be able to keep the place open.”
Paddy Power already announced yesterday it was closing 57 betting shops ahead of the Winter Budget. Reeves playing a bad hand…
