Betting firms could hit jackpot as court says they paid too much VAT

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Pubs, arcades and betting firms could be in line for billions of pounds in tax refunds after they were unfairly charged VAT by the government on some of their gambling machines.

Up to 1,000 businesses with devices including fruit machines, one-armed bandits and coin-pushers are set for a rebate stretching back nearly 20 years, after judges ruled in favour of Rank Group, the owner of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos.

The judgment found that gambling and betting companies ought not to have paid VAT on a wide range of slot machines between 2005 and 2013, because they were similar in nature to VAT-exempt gambling devices such as casino roulette wheels and games found on online gambling sites.

It follows a verdict handed down in April