In a move that could save the bars and pubs industry £750,000 a year the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has renegotiated the due date for payment of gaming fees.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has agreed that pubs holding existing gaming machine permits with expiry dates after 1 September – the date for the start of the new licensing system - will not be forced to attain a new permit and pay an annual fee of £50 until their existing permits actually run out.

The annual fee will now instead be phased in over the next three years as permits – commonly known as Section 34 permissions - gradually expire.

It had been originally proposed that payments would have to be made at a fixed date in September as rules for fruit machines and the like contained in the Gambling Act 2005 came into force.

Mark Hastings, BBPA Director of Communications, said: “Given the pressures facing the trade this year, I’m pleased the DCMS has listened to our common sense arguments about the introduction of new gaming machine charges. This is welcome and will save pubs a great deal of money.”

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By Christopher Walton

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