We might describe the change in the number of UK high street betting shops in the financial year April 2023 to March 2024, as opposed to the same period a year earlier, as ‘natural shrinkage’.
The retail sector lost 64 shops from the high street during the last financial year, which equates to a percentage terms loss of 1.06%.
Given the challenges facing the UK high street in all areas of retail, with the ongoing cost of living crisis playing a devilish hand, the data is perhaps not all that surprising.
- UK betting shops (2022/23) – 5,995
- UK betting shops (2023/24) – 5,931
- Percentage Change: -1.06%
2023/24: A Snapshot
The UK Gambling Commission published their annual industry statistics overview in November 2024.
The mini recession in late 2023, powered by rising inflation and interest rates, has had a considerable impact upon the finances of people of all ages in the UK.
Sales volume for the UK retail sector remained 2.5% down on pre-health crisis levels, which can be compared unfavourably to a 6% growth in online sales for the same period.
As a consequence, a staggering 120,000 jobs were lost in UK retail in 2023 alone, with more than 10,000 shops shut for good.
Set against that backdrop, you could argue that high street betting shops actually performed better than expectations, with a loss of just over 1% of all bookmaking real estate in 2023/24.
And with no major football tournament, with the World Cups in cricket and rugby leading the way, in theory betting revenue was likely to be lower in 2023.
But that’s not how things panned out…
- Total gross gambling yield (2022-23) – £15.1 billion
- Total gross gambling yield (2023-24) – £15.6 billion
- Percentage Change – +3.3%
A decent year then, which was capped by gains for the three main ‘niches’ within the sector. As well as remote betting and gaming machines enjoying positive returns, the land-based sector posted an increase of 3.8% in its Gross Gambling Yield – up to £4.6 billion.
Reasons for Betting Shop Closures (2023/24)
The Difficult Retail Landscape
As alluded to, there was no great mystery as to why those 64 high street betting shops closed during the 2023/24 financial year.
This was one of the toughest years in recent memory for the retail sector, with the shoppers that had stayed away since the global health emergency continuing to do so – amidst the growing confidence amongst the older audience in online shopping.
Some notable high street retailers, including Wilko, Paperchase and M&Co, went bust completely, while thousands of shops were shuttered for the last time.
Research posted by Savills confirms that the weekly footfall on high streets and in shopping centres in the UK fell from one quarter to the next in 2023 and into 2024, with no sign of the traditional Christmas uptick or improvement amidst Boxing Day and New Year’s Day sales.
As a consequence of all of this, fewer people were frequenting the UK high street. And so the numbers of punters visiting a betting shop in their local town or city fell accordingly, too.
In the first three months of 2024, Entain saw a 6% drop in ‘sales’ in their Coral and Ladbrokes shops compared to the same period a year earlier. For William Hill, the decline hit 7%.
Once upon a time, the 64 betting shops that closed in the UK in 2023/24 may have been marginally profitable or break-even propositions. But, in the face of these challenging trading conditions, they would be making a loss – sharp-minded directors are rarely in a mood to suffer such a situation for too long.
Confirmed Betting Shop Closures 2023/24
A chunk of the closures in 2023/24 were William Hill – who shut branches in towns including Crewe – and Paddy Power tightening their belts by shuttering individual shops across the UK that were under-performing – with Paddy also closing 21 shops in Ireland as of October 2023.
In July 2023, Betfred confirmed they were conducting a review of their high street presence, admitting that loss-making shops were being ‘considered’ for closure – not aided, of course, by a £3.25 million fine levied upon them by the Gambling Commission that same month.
In Scotland, the local firm Scotbet announced closures, although one of their premises was poised to be taken over by Ladbrokes.
And, on a somewhat related note, Crockfords – the oldest casino in Britain – closed its doors for the final time in November 2023… almost 200 years after commencing trading.