The UK government’s annual Autumn Budget can have ramifications for a number of industries and businesses.
But no sector has been hit as hard as the gambling industry by Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget in November 2025.
She made a series of changes to the tax regime paid by the sector, headlined by:
- Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40%
- General Betting Duty was hiked from 15% to 25%
- Taxes paid on retail and horse racing bets were frozen at current rates
In theory, the budget was good news for the retail sector. However, in reality, most gambling giants operating in the UK are heavily beholden to their online platforms for profit – so the overall ‘tax grab’ theme was, indirectly, catastrophic for both betting shops and the sport of horse racing.
And it’s not as if the retail betting sector is in rude health anyway.
In September 2017, there was just shy of 10,000 betting shops on the UK high street. Fast forward eight years and one month to October 2025 and that number has dropped to 5,789 – a real terms loss of around 42%.
According to Gambling Commission figures, the retail sector now accounts for just 29% of the gambling industry’s revenue share – 20 years ago, of course, it was practically 100% prior to the explosion in online betting and gaming.
What will that figure be in 20 years’ time… or will there even be high street betting shops in the UK at that point?
The revelations of some of the UK’s key brands in recent months suggests that 2026, in the wake of the ‘death knell’ budget, could be another bloodbath for betting shops on the high street.
Coral, Ladbrokes – Owner of 40% of UK Shops Expecting £250m Revenue Hit
A rough count suggests that Entain, via their Coral and Ladbrokes brands, has around 2,300 betting shops on the UK’s high street – around 40% of the entire sector.
They warned of a hit of approximately £250 million in revenue by 2027 due to the budget, which they would mitigate through the reduction of marketing and promotions and an examination of their retail offering.
It has been suggested that a number of Entain’s betting shops were ‘barely viable’ even before the budget. So now? It seems that the worst-performing branches will be shuttered as the firm looks to claw back monies lost in the chancellor’s tax raid.
William Hill – Up to 200 Shops Could Close After Group’s Value Drops 90%
When Evoke acquired the rights to the William Hill brand in the UK back in 2022, they were taking an almighty £2.2 billion gamble.
William Hill, back in the days when it was self-owned, closed 700 of their betting shops in 2019 and a further 119 in 2020 – such were the challenges of the high street.
Evoke seemingly saw an opportunity, but now – three-and-a-bit years after acquiring the rights to William Hill’s retail empire – they too are threatening further closures.
In a statement made prior to the budget being revealed, a statement from Evoke revealed that as many as 200 of its William Hill shops could be closed if gambling taxes were hiked by the chancellor.
They were, of course, although a freeze on retail gambling duty may just have secured some – if not all – of those shops a stay of execution.
However, other areas of Evoke’s business will be hit by tax increases – especially online, so the firm will likely embark on a cost cutting exercise in 2026.
Could it be that their betting shops, some of which are barely profitable as it is, will be the first on the chopping block?
The plot thickened in December. It was sensationally revealed that Evoke were planning to break up their group, selling off individual units such as the William Hill retail arm or even their Mr Green online casino brand.
And bosses hadn’t even ruled out the sale of Evoke in its entirety.
The group’s market value has plummeted by a staggering 90% since acquiring William Hill, as that purchase saw Evoke take on a considerable amount of debt.
Will a buyer be found that can revitalise the William Hill brand on the high street?
Paddy Power – 57 Shop Closures Announced
It was back in October that Flutter revealed that 57 Paddy Power branded high street betting shops would be permanently closed in the weeks and months ahead.
Those were located across Great Britain and Ireland, with 28 in Britain, 28 in the Republic of Ireland and one in Northern Ireland closing for the final time. The reasons? ‘Increasing cost pressures’ and ‘challenging market conditions’ were cited.
Before the closures, Paddy Power had an empire of 608 betting shops across the UK and Ireland, so they effectively shut the door on around 9% of their entire retail portfolio in one swoop.
At no point did anyone from Flutter mention the budget specifically as a reason, although you sense the predictions of what would be in Reeves’ budget – which proved to be accurate – and the timing of the announcement of the closures was no coincidence.
There’s always a human cost of such business decisions, with around 247 staff members either to be redeployed or offered redundancy.
At the time of writing, there are no announcements on further closures from within the Flutter umbrella.
“We are continually reviewing our high street estate, but it remains a key part of our offer to customers, and we are seeking to innovate and invest where we can as we adapt to different customer trends and needs,” a spokesperson commented.
And, in October, Paddy Power opened a new all-in-one sportsbook, casino and entertainment venue at the Hippodrome – thought to be the first of its kind in the UK and a nod to American-style gambling properties.
So maybe there’s still life in the retail sector for the betting industry after all…
Betfred – Threat of Closure to All 1,287 Shops
Whether they were scaremongering or not, as rumours of what was contained within the Autumn Budget circulated, Betfred chiefs claimed that all 1,287 of its betting shops in the UK would be closed if gambling tax was hiked.
Fred Done, the Betfred founder, told the BBC: “It [tax] doesn’t even need to go up to 50%. 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.”
The retail sector was given a tax reprieve, of course, but other rate rises – notably on online betting – will have ramifications for Betfred’s business model and profitability.
And for online casino games, taxes have been hiked to Done’s feared 40%.
Since the budget was announced, Betfred have been quiet on what comes next for their retail empire. In his interview, Done revealed that 300 of his firm’s betting shops actively lose money – they’re kept open to ensure Betfred brand recognition isn’t lost.
He also estimated that even a 5% hike would increase that number to 430. So, while tax on retail betting was frozen, considerable tax grabs in other areas will hit Betfred’s bottom line hard… quite possibly, cutting adrift loss-making betting shops will be one of the ways Done saves some money in an era of gambling sector austerity.
Maybe betting firms were scaremongering when they warned of such dire consequences pre-budget. But maybe they weren’t… the changing dynamic of the high street, with younger people preferring online shopping to in person, means that many provincial towns are devoid of life with minimal foot-fall.
Add into the mix a diabolical tax regime and, quite simply, you have a recipe for disaster.