Betfred to cut 600 jobs as 132 shops close amid industry tax raid

One of Britain's biggest high street bookmakers is to axe hundreds of jobs as it prepares to close more than 130 shops amid a deepening tax raid on the industry.

Sky News has learnt that Betfred, which is owned by co-founder Fred Done, informed employees on Friday morning that it had drawn up plans to permanently shut 132 betting shops - just over 10% of its total estate.

The closures will result in the loss of about 600 jobs, with a consultation period involving affected workers now under way.

Money latest: An airline's plea to PM that could make flights cheaper

The move follows similar closures in recent months announced by rivals including Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes, and William Hill's parent company, Evoke, as the gambling sector contends with increases in industry levies.

Entain cut 2% of its workforce, or about 500 jobs, earlier this month, while Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power, has also been trimming its store estate in recent months.

The Betfred closures are the most substantial since Mr Done warned last November that the rising tax burden on the sector could force the closure of all of his more than 1,200 UK shops.

Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor, increased gambling levies at the last Budget.

More broadly, high street employers have been complaining bitterly about the impact of jobs-related taxes in the period since Labour came to power.

In a statement issued in response to an enquiry from Sky News, Jo Whittaker, Betfred chief executive, said: "It is with deep regret that we have today started a consultation with colleagues working in more than 130 of our shops regarding a proposal to close those locations.

"We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.

"These are well-run shops, staffed by dedicated colleagues, and it is incredibly hard to see any of them close, but the current fiscal and regulatory environment has made it impossible to keep trading all our shops.

"Our priority now is to support the colleagues affected, and to continue serving customers and communities across the rest of our estate."

Britain's gambling industry is growing increasingly concerned that Andy Burnham and John Healey, the new prime minister and chancellor respectively, will further target it at future fiscal events.

Operators have complained about recent moves by the Gambling Commission to introduce affordability checks on consumers, saying they will cause profound damage to the horseracing industry.

One insider warned on Friday that in addition to the job losses, Betfred's closures would also dent the revenues received by horseracing, with - on average - each Betfred shop contributing nearly £31,000 in direct payments through media rights and racing levies.

That would amount to a total hit of £4m to racing.

Industry executives have also told the government the betting shop closures are accelerating a shift to unregulated offshore gambling groups - which ministers have separately been seeking to clamp down on.

Betfred was founded by Mr Done and his brother Peter in 1967, with the pair now ranking as Britain's biggest individual taxpayers, according to The Sunday Times.

Following the 132 closures, Betfred will be left with 1,094 UK shops, down from a peak of 1,680 in 2017.

The company will have a UK workforce of roughly 6,800 after the redundancies take effect.

(c) Sky News 2026: Betfred to cut 600 jobs as 132 shops close amid industry tax raid