One of British betting’s biggest employers on the high street is to close 132 betting shops, resulting in the loss of 600 jobs.
The firm has cited multiple pressures, including the Gambling Tax hike and other associated business costs, as the root cause for the closures.
The losses account for around 10% of Betfred’s entire UK retail empire, although reports suggest that Fred Done is potentially looking at the possibility of repurposing some of those shuttered shops as Adult Gaming Centres.
Cutting Costs
It was back in November that Done, in the weeks leading up to the government’s Autumn Budget, warned that a hike in gambling duty would force Betfred to shutter a number of shops permanently.
His concerns fell on deaf ears as the then chancellor pressed on with her Gambling Tax hike, almost doubling Remote Gaming Duty and increasing the amount of tax paid on sports bets.
Although the retail sector was spared a tax grab – duty was frozen at the current level of 15%, the damage caused to Betfred’s other verticals was such that the firm has had to embark on a significant cost-cutting exercise.
In an era in which it has become increasingly difficult to make betting shops financially viable, owing to the increasing preference for online wagering and the lower foot-fall on UK high streets, the retail estate is one of the most obvious sources for cutting costs.
Commenting on the shop closures, Betfred chief executive Jo Whittaker said:
“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.”
It means that Betfred will be left with 1,094 shops on UK soil – down nearly 600, to 1,680 – in the past decade.
Company founder Done, who remains involved in day-to-day operations at Betfred at the age of 83, said:
“This is people’s lives and we’ve got a heart, and I’ve got a sad heart today. I’m so sorry to make these sorts of announcements, it’s killing me.”
The sad downward trend for the retail betting sector continues. Paddy Power announced 57 shop closures last October, and they have since been followed by Evoke, who will shutter 270 underperforming shops over the course of this year.
Entain, meanwhile, announced in July that it was slashing around 2% of its workforce – approximately 500 jobs – as part of their cost-cutting to combat the tax hikes.
One Battle After Another
The hope is that the jobs of some of those 600 lost could be saved, with some staff moving to other shops or – perhaps – returning as employees at the rumoured Adult Gaming Centres (AGC) that Betfred are considering opening.
Although it’s thought that their plans are at an early stage, the firm is considering opening a number of AGCs – whether in their existing betting shops or in new properties – during the remainder of the year and into 2027.
Adult Gaming Centres are licensed premises that offer a range of gambling options, including slot machines and digital casino games. They are licensed by the Gambling Commission, who may be amenable to giving Betfred the green light given their extensive heritage in the sector.
Historically, they are easy to open due to loopholes in local planning laws, with a 7% increase in the properties since 2022 alone.
However, Done might yet be facing another political opponent as a stumbling block to his aspirations…
The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, does not like AGCs. He literally said as much while on the campaign trail ahead of his journey that took him from Makerfield by-election to 10 Downing Street.
“I’m a very big critic of adult gaming centres,” Burnham told The Mirror.
“You can see they’re open 24/7 and all the social harms that come from that. Again, councils need stronger control to stop the spread of those things.”
It’s very likely that Burnham will designate more powers to local councils to ban planning permission applications from those wishing to open an AGC on the high street.
There are increasing fears that the Prime Minister will use the so-called ‘sin’ industries to fund his spending plans, with John Healey – the new chancellor – likely to be tasked with increasing taxes on AGCs, vape shops and other high street empires linked to possible money laundering and criminality.