Machine games duty was introduced on 1 February 2013. This is payable by anyone operating machine games where customers pay to play the games in the hope that they will win a cash prize that’s more than the cost to play the machine.
HMRC announced that they would not be levying penalties on the first machine games duty returns, but that dispensation has now ended. In addition to charging penalties and interest on any late payments there is also a £100 late payment penalty. This penalty could be as much as the amount of the duty for anyone only operating a couple of machines so it is essential that returns are made on time and the duty paid by direct debit.