If you intend to make amusement machines available for play, you must register under the Machine Games Duty (MGD) regulations. MGD was introduced for existing operators from 1 February 2013. The published list of person’s who may be affected is anyone who:
- holds, or is required to hold, a licence or permit which allows them to provide gaming machines for play on premises
- owns, leases or occupies premises on which machine games may be played
- controls the operation of machines games
- controls admission to premises on which machine games may be played
- is responsible for the management of premises on which machine games may be played or provides goods or services to people who are admittedl.
Penalties may be applied if you don’t register for MGD, don’t make your MGD returns on time, don’t pay the MGD that you owe, and if you make a mistake on your return.
If you had dutiable machines available for play at 1 February 2013, or since that date, and you have still not registered to make MGD returns, you should apply as soon as possible in order to minimise any penalties payable.
The rates of MGD depend on the type of machine. There are two for MGD purposes:
- Type 1: all machines that do not qualify as Type 2 machines.
- Type 2: to qualify as a Type 2 machine it must be demonstrated that:
(a) the cost to play each dutiable machine game on the machine once does not exceed 10p, and
(b) the maximum cash prize for each dutiable machine game on the machine does not exceed £8.
The standard rate of MGD (20%) applies to Type 1 machines, and the reduced rate of 5% to Type 2 machines.