Pub machine jackpots could double
Maximum stakes and prizes in pub AWP machines could double from Spring 2009 under new Government plans.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) plans to double prizes from £35 to £70 and increase the maximum stake from 50p to £1 in low stake, low prize category C machines used in pubs.
The planned changes, contained in a consultation document, follow lobbying by trade bodies and the gaming industry.
British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) director Martin Rawlings called the move a "good thing" saying: "With a fair wind, this could restore the fortunes of machines in pubs."
The original consultation, which closed last October, suggested a range of options for what stake and prize limits should apply from Easter 2009. These were 50p/£35 (no change), 50p/£50, 60p/£60, £1/£70 and £1/£100.
DCMS favoured 60p/£60. But the new consultation says that after "highly persuasive representations" from trade bodies, it opted for £1/£70 as the original proposal "would fail to have the desired effect of providing relief to the seaside arcade and pub sectors."
A review of category B machines will follow later in 2009, and all categories will be reviewed again in 2012.
Last time an increase was announced, October 2006, a technicality meant the upgrade moved the changed machines into a new duty band, which swallowed up additional profit. Rawlings was confident that this "would not happen this time around".
The Government rejected the £1/£100 option, saying it would "go too far in blurring the distinction between low stake, low prize machines and higher categories of machine".
The latest consultation ends on 19 January. Groups that responded to the original consultation included the BBPA, Punch Taverns and Business in Sport and Leisure.
