MORE THAN 540 BETTING SHOPS CLOSE AND 4,500 JOBS LOST SINCE BUDGET TAX RAID

Britain’s regulated betting sector is facing mounting pressure from rising taxes and costs, with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) warning that further increases will mean more shop closures, job losses and reduced investment.

Since last year’s Budget, more than 540 high-street betting shops have closed and around 4,500 jobs have been lost.

That comes on top of a much longer-term decline in the retail betting sector. Since 2019, around 3,000 betting shops have closed and more than 15,000 jobs have been lost, with shop numbers falling by more than a third.

Those that remain continue to support around 37,500 jobs across Britain, while generating valuable footfall for neighbouring businesses and remaining an established part of many local high streets and communities.

Betting shops are also part of a major regulated betting and gaming sector that makes a significant contribution to Britain’s economy, supporting 109,000 jobs, contributing £6.8bn in gross value added and generating more than £4bn a year in tax revenues for the Exchequer.

Far from being marginal businesses, they form part of an established, heavily regulated industry that supports tens of thousands of livelihoods, sustains investment across communities and makes a substantial contribution to the public finances.

The BGC said the figures underline that suggestions betting shops are spreading unchecked simply do not stand up to scrutiny, and warned against grouping highly regulated, licensed businesses together with criminal or illegal operators outside the regulated sector.

Last month, the Treasury rejected suggestions that Government policy was behind the closures, saying: ‘It is wrong to suggest it is the fault of government for these closures. Gambling duty rates for high street shops have not changed.’

But the BGC said that response ignores the reality of how betting businesses operate and the repeated warnings made by the industry.

Major betting operators manage their retail and online businesses as integrated operations, meaning significant increases in tax and regulatory costs affecting one part of the business inevitably influence investment decisions across the whole company, including the future of high-street shops and jobs.

Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said:

“The numbers speak for themselves. The BGC repeatedly warned the previous Chancellor that further tax increases would cost jobs, close businesses and damage growth.

“Since the Budget, betting operators have announced the closure of 540 high-street shops, with around 4,500 jobs lost. Betfred’s decision to close 132 shops, putting more than 600 jobs at risk, is the latest evidence of the pressure now facing the sector.

“The unprecedented doubling of online gaming duty is already hammering betting businesses. The Treasury may pretend these tax rises only hit online gambling, but that is simply not how the industry works. Betting companies run their shops and online businesses together, so when costs are driven up in one part of the business, jobs, investment and high-street shops suffer across the rest.

“And worse is still to come. The forthcoming increase in online sports betting duty will pile even more pressure on operators, threatening jobs and investment while taking vital funding and sponsorship away from British sport.

“Betting shops are an integral part of Britain’s high streets. The real threat is more empty units and fewer local jobs. Heaping further pressure on these highly regulated businesses will only result in even more closures, more job losses, less investment and less money for sport.

“These are the real-world consequences of the previous Chancellor’s damaging tax rises. They are bad for jobs, bad for high streets and bad for sport - and they hand a huge advantage to the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.”