Bacta, the UK trade body for amusement land-based gambling, has cautioned that millions could be lost if an Overnight Visitor Levy in England is introduced.

Led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, consultations on the levy began last year and ran all the way through 18 February 2026. 

The plan is to give Mayoral Strategic Authorities across England the power to create local overnight visitor levies – aimed at funding local tourism, culture and infrastructure through taxing overnight accommodation.

Bacta is now questioning the effectiveness of such a measure, warning that Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) will face significant challenges to retain their status as a core component of coastal economies.

According to the trade body, FECs have faced dwindling turnover of 25% between 2015-2024, with operating profits also dropping by 18% in that period. This economic landscape points to a sector already under economic strain.

This is in addition to Bacta’s projections that operating profits have fallen with an additional 29% between 2023 and 2024, which has further hampered the sector’s ability to recover properly.

If the levy does get officially adopted – Manchester and Liverpool have already implemented similar charges with their Accommodation Business Improvement Districts – Bacta warned that even modest rates would reduce overnight visits by 1-2%, citing evidence from the Tourism Alliance.

This would then translate into a direct loss for the seaside arcade and FEC sector, leading to between £14m and £28m in annual losses for coastal communities on top of 362 jobs being affected, the trade body said.

Allaster Gair, Director of Communications at Bacta, said: “The majority of Bacta members are SMEs operating in seasonal, weather-dependent, and price-sensitive destinations that are heavily reliant on domestic overnight tourism. Any proposals that jeopardise what is a fragile business environment have to be considered in forensic detail.

“Many visitors to seaside towns are domestic families with fixed holiday budgets and we believe that access to leisure and important family time should be protected particularly for those who are on tight family budgets.”

“Bacta would welcome further engagement as the Department considers the responses to this consultation and we are more than happy to explain our arguments in greater detail, expand on the research that underpins our empirical arguments and provide any further information to help inform the debate.”

Bacta emboldened by budget victory?

Previously, Bacta managed to successfully avert what could have been a crisis for the land-based arcade sector. The sector was able to avoid the worst case scenario of the November budget, benefiting from a freeze in Machine Games Duty at the previous rate of 20%.

This was announced in November by Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a relief to the industry as stakeholders feared that the rate would rise to  50% – a detrimental move that would’ve closed hundreds of venues, according to Bacta.

Furthermore, the previous Bingo Duty at 10% will also be completely abolished coming April 2026, which is good news for all FECs offering bingo games. 

Given the financial relief policies already in motion, it remains to be seen whether Bacta will once again manage to convince the government of the impending challenges it foresees for the sector.