Sales of new machines in the UK - of all types except export models - hit an all-time low in 2007.
The run-in to the new Gambling Act, which came into operation on September 1, and its immediate fallout - total stagnation - has almost halved Britain’s injection of new machines to the street market.
In 2005, the market absorbed 59,000 machines of all categories, falling to 46,000 in 2006. This year it has gone into freefall at just 33,000.
The majority of these are AWP machines, now Category C, as major retailers have continued to call for replacements in front-line pubs. But the overall pattern is causing great concern to the manufacturers.
The figures come from InterGame’s annual analysis of the UK market, which is published in our January issue.
