Genting Closes Coventry Casino Amid Tax and Cost Pressures

^{Genting has closed its Coventry casino, which opened in 2012, citing commercial pressure on the land-based sector. (Photo: N Chadwick / Wikimedia Commons)}

Genting Casinos UK has closed its casino in Coventry after concluding the venue was "no longer commercially viable to sustain trading," putting 51 jobs at risk.

The casino, at the city's Skydome complex on Croft Road, opened in 2012. Genting said it had concluded a consultation process with staff before confirming the closure on 1 October.

Coventry CEO Blames Cost Pressures and the Threat of Higher Tax

Genting Casinos UK chief executive Paul Willcock pointed to rising costs across energy, business rates, wages and compliance, on top of the prospect of a sharply higher machine games duty, even as the operator has kept investing elsewhere — it completed a £1.5m refurbishment of its Manchester casino earlier this year.

"If the Government wants to keep gambling safe, regulated and free from crime, it must ensure that legitimate operators remain commercially sustainable. Policies that result in licensed casino closures do not eliminate demand; they risk driving customers towards unregulated venues where there are no safeguards, no consumer protections and no contribution to the Exchequer." — Paul Willcock, speaking to NEXT.io.

Willcock said the Treasury is considering doubling machine games duty from 20% to 40%, a change Genting estimates would cost it £16m a year and make 13 of its 32 UK casinos unsustainable, putting about 900 jobs at risk nationwide.

Genting Points to Illegal Gambling Growth

Willcock also pointed to the growth of unlicensed, high-street gambling venues as a separate pressure on the regulated sector, citing the Gambling Commission's raids on five such premises since May, reported by NEXT.io.

"This is not a problem that can be solved through enforcement alone," he said. "Licensed casinos invest heavily in compliance, safer gambling, AML controls and security, but they also face increasing tax and regulatory costs."

Betting shop chains have made similar arguments this autumn. Entain chief executive Stella David has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham warning of widespread betting shop closures if the duty rises to 40%, putting up to 1,470 shops and 15,900 jobs at risk. Coventry is the first confirmed land-based casino closure tied to the tax debate ahead of the Budget on 28 October.

Rank Group, the owner of Grosvenor Casinos and the UK's largest land-based operator, has separately warned it could close up to 16 of its 47 venues, at a cost of 1,800 jobs, calling a doubling of the duty "economically incoherent" given the extra £35m it says the change would cost against last year's £28.9m post-tax profit.

Physical casinos face higher fixed costs than online operators because of large premises and staffing needs for croupiers, dealers, bar staff, cleaners and security, a point operators have repeatedly raised with the Treasury as they lobby against the proposed rate rise. Genting has not said whether any of its remaining 31 UK casinos face a similar review before the Budget.