Fairness on the high street must include betting shops

There has been no shortage of debate in recent years about the future of the high street and how government can help local businesses weather increasingly tough conditions. From independent retailers and cafés to pubs and social clubs, many of the places that give our town centres their character are under intense pressure. Rising costs, changing consumer habits and the lingering effects of the pandemic have made survival harder than ever.

Pubs offer a familiar example. Long at the heart of community life, many are now closing not for lack of demand, but because the economics no longer stack up, a reality the Government is starting to recognise. Some have even taken the extreme step of barring MPs, a small but telling expression of frustration at how distant national policymaking can sometimes feel from the realities of running a local business.

That distance matters. Many of my colleagues in Parliament will never have set foot in a betting shop, just as they may rarely visit the sorts of pubs, cafés or high-street services that their constituents use every week. Yet for millions of people across the country, these are enjoyable places of leisure and social interaction. Policy works best when it reflects that everyday reality, rather than relying on assumptions or outdated classifications.

One thing most people agree on is that business rates remain one of the biggest obstacles facing bricks-and-mortar operators.

Yet for all the discussion, parts of the system still feel rooted in the past.

This is an issue I have been hearing about directly from businesses in my constituency, and from colleagues across Parliament. That matters, because the high street isn’t an abstract policy idea. It is where people earn a living, where services remain accessible, and where local economies either survive or slowly hollow out.

Licensed betting offices are part of that picture. In my constituency alone, betting shops employ around 70 people. Those jobs are local, visible and rooted in the community. Collectively, those businesses contribute nearly £2 million a year in tax, a timely reminder that these are legitimate enterprises playing their part in the wider economy.

The same is true nationally. Across the UK, around 5,800 betting shops support approximately 42,000 jobs. The sector pays around £1 billion a year in direct tax to the Treasury, alongside a further £60 million in business rates to local councils.

Betting itself is a lawful leisure activity enjoyed by millions of people every month. The vast majority do so safely and responsibly, within a framework that is among the most tightly regulated of any consumer-facing industry. That context is important when we consider how betting shops are treated by government.

Crucially, any discussion needs to start from the reality on the ground. We need to fully recognise the pressures facing town centres and the importance of effective local regulation. But contrary to some public narratives, licensed betting shops are not expanding or proliferating. They are disappearing.

Nationally, the number of betting shops has fallen sharply in recent years, from 8,304 in 2019 to 5,825 by March 2025 - a decline of around 30 per cent. That contraction has already resulted in more than 10,000 job losses across the country, affecting local workers and weakening the fabric of high streets that are already under strain.

That trend shows no sign of reversing. Further closures are expected as the tax increases announced at the Budget place additional pressure on operators’ retail estates.

When it comes to business rates, betting shops occupy a strange and increasingly difficult position.

Despite operating as high-street, customer-facing leisure premises, licensed betting offices are classified as financial services for business rates purposes, and they are excluded from Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief - support that has been available to many other high-street leisure venues, including pubs, bingo halls and adult gaming centres. As that relief is withdrawn and revaluation pressures feed through, these distinctions matter more than ever.

At the very least, this inconsistency deserves a proper look. In practical terms, betting shops look, operate and trade much like other leisure businesses. They occupy similar units, face the same rising costs, and serve the same communities. Yet they are treated differently for reasons that feel more historical than logical.

If the government believes that high-street leisure businesses should be supported through targeted relief, it is reasonable to ask why one type of regulated venue is excluded while others are not.

Business rates reform is complex, and no one pretends otherwise, but complexity should not become an excuse for standing still. Policymakers should be willing to revisit long-standing assumptions when the evidence suggests they no longer fit.

A modern business rates system should be fair, consistent and grounded in how communities actually work. If we want thriving town centres, with pubs, shops and leisure venues sitting side by side, then applying a little common sense to the fair treatment of all of these businesses would be a sensible place to begin.

Mary Glindon, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend

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