UK Government decides against tax

The UK Government has backed down from plans to inflict an £85m tax on pub quiz machines.

Reported in national press, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Custom (HMRC) was looking to reclassify SWP machines, such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Monopoly, as gambling machines, making them liable for Amusement Machine Licence Duty (AMLD).

But HMRC has ruled that the machines do not include an element of chance.

In reference to the Monopoly and Cluedo games in particular, the report said: "This is because the random number generator portrayed as a ‘dice’ does not affect the player’s chance of winning."

The new tax would have cost the industry £85m, or £2,500 per pub, the British Beer & Pub Association estimated.