UK Hospitality Pushes for VAT and Rates Cuts as Casinos Feel the Squeeze

_{Casinos like the Hippodrome are shouldering the same tax burden. (Image: Alan Evans/Casinos.com)}

With just over two weeks until the UK Budget, hospitality leaders are making a last-ditch plea for help, and the casino industry says the stakes couldn’t be higher.

More than 345 of the country’s biggest hospitality names, from pub chains and hotels to leisure operators and casino groups, have signed an open letter urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to deliver immediate tax relief. Backed by UKHospitality, the coalition warns that last year’s Budget “taxed out” the sector, driving closures, job losses and price hikes across the UK’s entertainment economy.

Casinos Among Those “Taxed Out”

Major signatories include IHG Hotels & Resorts, Greene King, Merlin Entertainments, Butlin’s, and several major land-based casino groups that say they’re being squeezed by soaring business rates and VAT.

Casinos, which sit at the intersection of entertainment, tourism and hospitality, have seen sharp drops in footfall and slower recovery post-COVID compared with pubs and restaurants. Industry operators say they are now “paying more and earning less,” as the current tax regime hits both high-street venues and integrated casino resorts.

“The last Budget left our sector taxed out,” the open letter states. “Over 80,000 jobs have been lost and nearly six in 10 hospitality businesses are pessimistic about the next year.”

The letter warns that closures are spreading from rural towns to coastal destinations, areas where casinos and leisure complexes play a key role in local economies.

Entertainment and Casino Venues Feel the Strain

The casino and entertainment segment, which includes venues such as Grosvenor Casinos, Genting, and Hippodrome Casino in London, is shouldering the same triple tax burden faced by pubs and hotels: higher business rates, frozen VAT relief, and rising National Insurance contributions (NICs).

According to the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), casinos support around 10,000 jobs and contribute more than £300 million in tax revenue annually. Yet more than a third of land-based venues have closed in the past decade due to rising costs and regulatory pressures.

“From pubs, restaurants and hotels to leisure parks, visitor attractions and contract catering, hospitality is being taxed out,” said Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality. 

“Without action, we will see these impacts continue and intensify.”

Casino operators have echoed that warning. They say the current system punishes high-footfall entertainment venues that rely on international tourism and late-night trade, both areas slow to recover amid tighter spending and economic uncertainty.

What the Industry Wants From the Budget

The coalition is urging the Chancellor to act on three key fronts:
    •    Lower business rates for venues under £500,000 in rateable value, with no penalty for larger sites that function as community and cultural assets.
    •    Fix employer NICs, targeting relief for businesses that hire young people or bring economically inactive workers back into employment.
    •    Cut VAT for hospitality and entertainment businesses to align with European competitors and stimulate consumer spending.

“Hospitality is clear: lower business rates, fix NICs and cut VAT to support hospitality, affect change on our high streets and support the renewal of the country,” Nicholls said.

For the UK’s casino and entertainment venues, the outcome could determine whether a fragile recovery gains momentum, or falters under another year of rising costs.