Betfred warns of 1,300 betting shop closures and 7,000 job losses if gambling taxes rise

"Britain's second-largest bookmaker has warned it will close all its 1,300 betting shops and cut 7,000 jobs if the government presses ahead with plans to double gambling taxes in next month's budget. Joanne Whittaker, chief executive of Betfred, said the measures being considered by chancellor Rachel Reeves would "wipe out the high-street betting shop", threatening the future of Britain's traditional gaming sector. "The most frightening element is we're going to lose the whole retail business," Whittaker told The Sunday Times. "I'm not scaremongering - I'm not being alarmist. If these rises happen, that's the reality.""

"The Warrington-based company, owned by brothers Fred and Peter Done, is warning of what it calls an "existential threat" to the industry if Treasury proposals to increase sports-betting duty from 15% to 30% and machine and online-gaming duty from 20% to 50% are enacted. The changes - strongly supported by former prime minister Gordon Brown and more than 100 Labour backbenchers - are forecast to raise £3.2 billion a year, enough to fund the abolition of the two-child benefit cap."

"The UK currently has around 5,900 licensed betting shops, employing roughly 46,000 people. Whittaker said if Betfred shutters its estate, rivals would likely follow suit. "If the impact to us is that we lose the whole estate, that's the same for all our counterparts," she said. In a letter to Reeves and Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, Whittaker warned that the policy could reduce, not increase, Treasury revenue by driving punters to unregulated offshore operators. "These proposed changes would produce the opposite of their intended effect - reducing tax revenue and accelerating black-market growth," she wrote."

Betfred warns that proposed doubling of gambling duties would force closure of its 1,300 betting shops and 7,000 job losses. The company describes Treasury proposals to raise sports-betting duty from 15% to 30% and machine and online-gaming duty from 20% to 50% as an existential threat to the retail sector. The tax increases are forecast to raise £3.2 billion a year, backed by Gordon Brown and more than 100 Labour backbenchers, intended to help fund abolishing the two-child benefit cap. Betfred warns closures would shrink the licensed high-street estate of about 5,900 shops and risk driving punters to unregulated offshore operators, potentially reducing tax revenue.

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