The UK Gambling Commission’s financial year reporting from April 2024 to March 2025 confirmed that the retail betting sector in the UK had contracted once more.
Here in March 2025, 5,825 betting shops are still open in Great Britain – but that’s a 1.78% decrease on the number that were trading as of March 2024 (5,931).
This was the fifth straight year in which the number of betting shops still open at the end of the accounting period was lower than the figure at its start.
- UK betting shops (2023/24) – 5,931
- UK betting shops (2024/25) – 5,825
- Percentage Change: -1.78%
2024/25: A Snapshot
The UK Gambling Commission has published their annual update as to the state of play in the sector.
Their findings are a real mixed bag, with the number of betting shops, licensed premises, operators and licensed activities all declining in 2024/25.
And yet, for those still in operation, the returns were strong. The total gross gambling yield rose year on year, with a 3.6% increase for the retail sector and a whopping 13.1% growth in remote casino, betting and bingo gaming.
The amount contributed to charitable causes via UK lottery draws also increased, so on the face of it the picture is rosy:
- Total gross gambling yield (2023-24) – £15.6 billion
- Total gross gambling yield (2024-25) – £16.8 billion
- Percentage Change – +7.6%
However, there’s a sense that storm clouds are just starting to gather overhead…
Reasons for Betting Shop Closures (2024/25)
Trading Conditions
According to a report in The Telegraph, the number of betting shops in the UK has fallen by around 30% – more than 2,000 – since 2018.
That’s largely due to the maximum stake rules imposed on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), which had an overwhelming impact on the financial viability of many shops that, otherwise, would barely turnover a profit.
The sector has survived the health crisis, but conditions on the UK high street remain tough – big businesses, including Homebase, Ted Baker and Lloyds Pharmacy, either went bust or needed rescuing between April 2024 and March 2025.
According to PWC, net shop closures in the first half of 2024 were -1.1%, so the betting sector has fallen broadly into line with wider trends.
National Minimum Wage Increases
It’s true to say that many, albeit not all, betting shop staff are paid the National Minimum Wage.
That was increased from £10.42 to £11.44 in April 2024, which made a considerable difference to the financial viability of individual shops.
And, in March 2025, it was confirmed that the National Minimum Wage would again increase in April – this time to £12.21.
This is good news for society as a whole, but for businesses making decisions on the future of shops that are already marginal in terms of profitability, it was not particularly helpful.
Competition
In theory, betting shops don’t have any competition – other than their online counterparts, of course.
But with the new regulations put into place on FOBTs, some betting shop customers have begun to pivot to a popular alternative: Adult Gaming Centres.
Although Adult Gaming Centres also have maximum stake limits, they typically offer more variety in the machines available and, in some cases, are open 24/7.
According to one survey, Merkur and Admiral – two of the most prominent proprietors of Adult Gaming Centres – opened dozens of new premises in 2024, taking their empire to more than 500 combined.
Fear of the Future
It was widely rumoured that the chancellor was going to hike gambling taxes in her autumn budget of November 2024.
That didn’t come to pass in the end, but many political observers believe that betting shops and the gambling sector in general will be in Rachel Reeves’ crosshairs later in 2025.
Whether tax is hiked on online gambling, retail betting or both, there will be significant implications for the major operators – their shops, which aren’t the cash cows that they used to be, could be the first lever pulled as part of any cost-cutting exercises.
Confirmed Betting Shop Closures 2024/25
There were no mass closures from any of the leading firms; it was more a case of individual shops being closed as part of an overall re-examination of the landscape.
Just some of the shops to close in this 2024/25 accounting period include:
- Paddy Power in Hereford
- Ladbrokes in Sheffield and Teddington
- Coral in Ruddington
- BoyleSports in Netherton
- Betfred in Crediton
Conditions were particularly tough for independent bookies, who don’t have the margins of scale of the major firms – something that became even more evident in the wake of the government’s new statutory levy scheme.
Reeves Racing Bookmakers in Salisbury, which had served the city for more than five decades, was one of those to close.
Bucking the trend were new shop openings, with BoyleSports in Mansfield and JenningsBet sites in Newcastle and Portsmouth amongst those opening their doors for the first time.