Fruit Machine Hire for Pubs, Clubs & Licensed Venues
Fruit machine hire is a popular way for pubs, clubs and licensed venues to increase customer dwell time while generating an additional income stream. Hiring a fruit machine allows venues to offer modern, compliant gaming machines without the upfront cost of purchasing, ongoing maintenance, or managing regulatory requirements.
At Manco Automatics, we provide flexible fruit machine hire solutions tailored to your venue, whether that’s a local pub, members’ club, hotel or leisure venue, with same-day repair and maintenance services. From selecting the right Category C gaming machine to handling installation, servicing and compliance with Gambling Commission regulations, we manage the entire process on your behalf.
Fruit Machine Hire: What You Need to Know
Hiring a fruit machine gives venues access to the latest models while avoiding depreciation, repair costs and compliance headaches. Unlike purchasing, fruit machine hire allows you to upgrade machines easily, adapt to changing player preferences and choose a payment model that suits your business.
Most venues opt for either a fixed rental agreement or a profit-share arrangement, depending on footfall and revenue goals. Manco Automatics advises on the most suitable option based on your venue type and customer base, ensuring machines are commercially viable as well as fully compliant.
What licence do I need for a fruit machine?
The type of licence needed for a fruit machine depends on the type of fruit machine installed. The highest category under the Gambling Act 2005 is Category A (unlimited stakes and prizes) but no machines of this type are currently permitted.
Categories currently permitted by the Gambling Commission include:
- B1: Maximum stake £5, maximum prize £10,000 (casinos only)
- B2: Maximum stake £2, maximum prize £500 (casinos/betting shops)
- B3: Maximum stake £2, maximum prize £500 (casinos/betting shops/bingo halls)
- B3A: As B3 but installed in members’ club or miners’ welfare club only
- B4: Maximum stake £2, maximum prize £400 (members’/miners’ and commercial clubs)
- C: Maximum stake £1, maximum prize £100 (pubs/clubs, bingo, betting shops, casinos)
- D: Various low-stakes, low-prize levels (pubs/clubs, bingo, betting shops, travelling fairs)
Some premises are automatically entitled to install up to two Category C or D gaming machines. This includes alcohol licensed premises such as bars and pubs.
Flexible pub fruit machines for your venue and budget
Publicans these days are constantly adopting new ways to attract customers into their pubs; one of the best modern ways that you can do this is with some new technology, such as renting a fruit machine. At Manco, we will advise you on the options available to your pub, including showing you any new models we will stock in the future, so you can hire the best fruit machine for your pub. We also offer a full fruit machine maintenance scheme with our services, to ensure you’re back up and running quickly if any faults should occur.
Many fruit machines for pubs have note acceptors fitted, enabling bank notes to be used, which is a popular feature that yields improved takings when managed properly.
Other key pub fruit machine features to consider are multi-stakes machines with differing levels of stakes and prizes to suit the player.
Our pub fruit machines
Paying out cash prizes up to a maximum of £100. Category C machines most commonly used in pubs are a must in terms of customer expectation and licensee profit.
This category of fruit machine thrives upon the innovation of the manufacturers developing new games to keep players interested and challenged.
Our club fruit machines
The rules that apply to club fruit machines are different than those for pub fruit machines in light of your private membership and tighter control over who has access to your premises and to your gaming machines.
As such, you have flexibility over what fruit machines you hire, including the stakes and prizes available, as well as the branding and general design of the unit. These factors can all combine to affect the amount you earn from your gaming machines.
Our club fruit machines
The rules that apply to club fruit machines are a little different than those for pub fruit machines in light of your private membership and tighter control over who has access to your premises and to your gaming machines.
As such you have flexibility over what fruit machines you hire – including the stakes and the prizes available as well as the branding and general design of the unit and these factors can all combine to affect the amount you earn from your gaming machines.
Category B3a – Cash prizes up to £400
Category B3a machines do not incur Amusement Machine Licence Duty and no VAT is paid on takings but you can only have one and it must be in place of one Category B4 gaming machine.
Again if you are below the de minimis limit any tax paid to the fruit machine hire provider should be able to be claimed back and machines hired on a profit-share agreement are usually entirely cost-free upfront as a result.
Category B4 – Cash prizes up to £500
Category B4 machines are the most common in clubs and if your club falls below the de minimis limit for VAT which it almost certainly does you will be able to reclaim any tax paid to the fruit machine hire provider.
You can have up to three Category B4 machines installed on your premises and to boost takings we would recommend opting for machines with a note recycler fitted allowing them not only to take payment using notes but to pay out prizes in paper money too.
Bar fruit machines
The addition of a fruit machine hire to your bar could be the difference between customers staying for one drink and three. Licensees who hire fruit machines for their bars, will reap the benefits of increased drinks sales, as well as revenue from the fruit machine itself.
Club fruit machines
Club fruit machines are typically located in clubs such as social clubs and private members clubs, however they can be installed into any bona fide club to bring in a new customer and entertain your current ones.
Hotel fruit machines
The clientele for a hotel can range from workers on business trips to families and friends taking a trip together, but no matter the customer everyone loves ending the day with a bit of friendly self competition through a fruit machine.
Pub fruit machines
Publicans in modern days are constantly picking up new ways to attract customers into their pubs, one of the best modern ways that you can do that is with some new technology, such as a fruit machine rental.
