Betfred has become the latest high-profile British betting brand to warn of mass shop closures and huge job losses should chancellor Rachel Reeves introduce tax hikes in November’s budget.
Fred Done, who founded Betfred with his brother in 1967, said that that any form of tax rise on betting companies could lead to the firm closing all 1,287 of its high street shops, putting 7,500 jobs at risk.
In her budget due to be announced on November 26, the chancellor is expected to introduce tax rises on revenues for both online and retail betting from 15% to 25% and one unified single tax rate for slot machines, rising from figures in the low 20s up to 50%.
What Other UK Betting Shops Could Close?
Just last week, Flutter-owned Paddy Power revealed it was mothballing 57 of its retail outlets regardless of whether there are tax increases or not, leading to fears within the industry that the Paddy Power shop closures could be the first of many for the UK betting trade.
That followed a declaration from William Hill that up to 200 of its own shops would be at risk if tax rises were rubber stamped.
Evoke, the holding company which operates the British brand, said that it faced losing anywhere from 120 to 200 retail outlets from its stable of 1,300 betting shops with around 1,500 job losses occurring as a result.
Entain, which holds both Ladbrokes and Coral, had fired a similar warning at the start of this month.
Stella David, the CEO of Entain, said that any tax rise could lead to betting shop closures from its estate of 2,300 retail outlets.
What Will Happen To Betfred?
Done said that presently 300 of Betfred’s betting shops are losing money and that the number would increase to 430 with just a 5% rise in tax levies.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Done claimed that changing present tax levels would be catastrophic for his company.
“It doesn’t even need to go up to 50%,” he said.
“If it 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.”
Chancellor Reeves has been looking at ways to raise funds for projects aimed at tackling child poverty.
She has been encouraged by former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, who submitted proposals to the government consultation recommending a tax on gambling to raise the estimated £3 billion needed.
Done fired a warning that not only would the UK betting industry suffer with mass closures and redundancies leading to drastically reduced revenues, but bettors would also seek alternatives that are beyond government legislation.
“Once the industry is closed down, it’s gone,” he said.
“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.”
Betting Online Is The Future
Flutter had declared that Paddy Power’s present round of proposed closures was due to “increasing cost pressures and challenging market conditions”.
Paddy Power is its only retail outlet in the UK, with its other UK-facing brands such as Sky Bet and Betfair operating exclusively online.
In its Q2 2025 earnings report for the second quarter of this year, Flutter’s UK and Ireland overall revenue was up by just 1%, but iGaming revenues had increased by 17%, illustrating the growing influence of the online markets.
Done accepts that the betting industry is becoming a digital-first experience for users but that companies should be given the opportunity to evolve, rather than be forced out of business.
“Slowly it will go online, but we’re talking, without tax increases, we’ve still got probably 20 years of life on the High Street,” he said.
“And you know, the UK High Street is being decimated with closures.”
