Betfred Founder Warns All UK Betting Shops Could Close by 2030 Over Gambling Tax

The founder of Betfred has sensationally claimed that all high street betting shops in the UK will be closed by the year 2030.

Fred Done, who also happens to be the UK’s highest taxpayer, has revealed that the government’s stringent tax regime will spell the end for an institution that dates back more than 60 years.

And Done has also confirmed that he will pull all of his sponsorship investment in horse racing and rugby league as the Prime Minister and his Chancellor plot another tax raid on the industry later this year.

Doubling Down

Betfred announced back in July that they were to close 132 of their UK betting shops, with the loss of around 600 jobs.

That was as a direct response to the Gambling Tax increases that were announced in last year’s Autumn Budget, with the first hike on online casino games rolled out in April of this year.

The next phase, which will see the amount of tax paid by operators on online sports bets increased by 10%, will be introduced in April 2027.

However, a new tax grab could be introduced by the Chancellor, John Healey, in his Autumn Budget, which will be revealed in November.

Line of Duty

Machine Games Duty (MGD) is paid on the profits from gaming machines that you find inside betting shops, bingo halls, Adult Gaming Centres and other venues of that type. Currently the tax is set at 20%, but it has been heavily rumoured that Healey is planning a significant increase – potentially even doubling it to 40%.

A number of industry stakeholders have already revealed their horror at such a plan, with Entain – the company behind Coral and Ladbrokes – CEO Stella David writing to the Prime Minister to warn ‘a further doubling of ​Machine Games Duty would add another significant ​cost ⁠to businesses already struggling to absorb major tax increases.’

Rank Group chief Richard Harris confirmed that a doubling of MGD would cost his company £35 million a year, with between 25-33% of all Rank owned venues likely to close as a consequence.

And Betfred chief Done revealed an even starker picture of what could be in store for the sector…

Mass Closures

If that MGD hike goes ahead, it would prove to be catastrophic for Betfred.

They would be forced to close as many as 495 of their remaining betting shops for good, which would come at a cost of around 2,500 jobs.

And the irony, which seems to be lost on the government, is that the closures would take £67 million in taxable income out of the Treasury’s coffers on an annual basis.

There are countless knock-on effects, too. A high street betting shop pays around £70,000 a year into UK horse racing for media rights and streaming – that then gets reinvested into prize money, equine welfare and so on.

So if 495 betting shops are closed by Betfred, that’s millions of pounds that the sport will lose. And the devastation to the industry will be terminal, according to Done.

Although the veracity of the data has not been verified, the Betting and Gaming Council – citing a report published by research group EY – has claimed that doubling MGD to 40% would see 1,470 betting shops closed and a staggering 15,900 jobs lost.

Done has now confirmed that Betfred will no longer sponsor rugby league’s Super League due to cutbacks, with a suggestion that his firm would also withdraw sponsorship of Flat racing’s ‘English Classics’, which include the Epsom Derby and St Leger, as well.