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19 October 2025

Betfred Warns Of Mass Closures Amid Gambling Tax Threat

Thousands of jobs and Britain’s high street betting shops face uncertainty as the government weighs a sharp tax hike on the gambling sector.

Fred Done, the co-founder and chairman of Betfred, issued a stark warning this week: if Chancellor Rachel Reeves goes ahead with proposed hikes to gambling taxes in the UK’s upcoming budget, every one of Betfred’s 1,287 high street shops could close their doors for good. This threat, echoed by other major bookmakers, has sent ripples through the gambling industry and beyond, raising concerns about the future of Britain’s high street, the fate of thousands of jobs, and the wider economic and social implications.

Speaking to the BBC on October 18, 2025, Done didn’t mince words. “If [the tax rate] went up to anywhere like 40%, or even 35%, there is no profit in the business. We would have to close it down. I’m talking job losses. We’re talking probably 7,500,” he said. The numbers are stark: 7,500 jobs at risk, and a retail footprint that has been part of the British high street since 1967 potentially wiped out overnight. Betfred’s chief executive, Joanne Whittaker, reinforced the gravity of the situation, telling the Sunday Times, “The most frightening element is we’re going to lose the whole retail business. I’m not scaremongering … I’m not being alarmist.”

The warning comes amid mounting speculation that Chancellor Reeves is considering a significant increase to gambling taxes—possibly raising the sports betting duty from 15% to 30%, and the online slots rate from 20% to as high as 50%. The move aims to address a projected £30 billion shortfall in public finances, with the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimating that a 50% tax could net the Treasury an additional £3.2 billion. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been one of the most vocal supporters of the measure, arguing that the extra revenue could be used to tackle child poverty. “As much as £3bn extra can be raised from taxing it properly,” Brown said, pointing out that the gambling industry, excluding the lottery, paid just £2.5 billion in tax last year on £11.5 billion in revenue.

But for those on the front lines of Britain’s betting industry, the prospect of such tax increases is nothing short of existential. Betfred reported nearly £1 billion in revenue in its most recent annual results, but after a series of writedowns on its assets, the company’s operating profit was just £500,000. The razor-thin margins are compounded by rising costs elsewhere: recent increases in employer National Insurance Contributions and the minimum wage have already added £20 million to Betfred’s annual expenses. “On a 1-10 scale it’s a ten, all the alarm bells are ringing here,” Done told the BBC, describing the proposed tax hikes as the biggest threat he’s faced in his 57-year career.

Betfred isn’t alone in its anxiety. William Hill’s parent company Evoke recently announced that it could close up to 200 shops if taxes rise, putting 1,500 jobs at risk. Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power, said it would shutter 57 shops across the UK and Ireland, citing challenging market conditions and cost pressures—though it noted those closures were not directly tied to the looming tax changes. Entain, the FTSE 100 owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has also warned that higher gambling taxes could force shop closures and investment to move overseas. Stella David, Entain’s chief executive, urged the government to “use maths rather than emotion” when considering tax rises, warning that such a move would force a reassessment of their entire high street presence.

The impact of potential closures would extend far beyond the betting industry. British racing, for example, relies heavily on betting shops for media rights and levy payments. Financial modeling commissioned by the British Horseracing Authority suggests that harmonizing betting duties at 21%—the rate currently levied on online casino games and slots—would cost racing £66 million a year. If the rates climbed to 40%, that figure could balloon to £160 million. The betting shop estate in Britain has already shrunk by a third over the past eight years, dropping from 9,977 shops in September 2017 to just 6,668 last month.

Critics of the gambling industry, however, argue that more regulation and higher taxes are overdue. Research from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in 2023 estimated that the excess costs of harmful gambling in the UK are between £1 billion and £1.77 billion annually. Professor Ashwin Kumar, director of research and policy at the IPPR, supports higher taxes, especially for online betting, to address the negative consequences for vulnerable gamblers. “We know that most of the profits made by gambling companies come from a very small number of gamblers, many of whom are at risk of serious harm. And so we think that the duties should be higher, just like tobacco and alcohol,” Kumar told the BBC.

Charities such as GambleAware have also weighed in, calling for stricter regulations on gambling advertising to protect children and young people, as well as greater public awareness of the risks. “Further regulation is needed on advertising to help protect children and young people, as well as to raise awareness about the risks,” the charity said in a statement.

Betfred, for its part, argues that high street betting shops provide better safeguards for problem gamblers compared to online and offshore competitors. Done has warned that if tax rises force UK-based shops to close, punters will still find ways to bet—just with offshore operators who pay nothing into the UK tax system. “Once the [UK] industry is closed down, it’s gone. People will still bet, but they’ll bet offshore with it. There’s plenty of bookmakers offshore who happen to take the bets, who don’t pay anything to this country,” Done told the BBC.

For now, the government is keeping its cards close to its chest. A spokesperson for HM Treasury said, “We do not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.” The Treasury has also emphasized that current consultations are focused on bringing online betting in line with other gambling forms to reduce bureaucracy, not on increasing or decreasing tax rates—though many in the industry remain unconvinced.

With the Chancellor’s budget announcement looming, the future of Britain’s high street bookmakers—and the thousands of livelihoods they support—hangs in the balance. The coming weeks will reveal whether the government heeds the industry’s warnings or presses ahead with tax reforms that could reshape the landscape of gambling in the UK for years to come.