Government

After months of speculation, the chancellor’s Autumn Budget is just a week away. Rachel Reeves will announce her plans to shore up the UK’s financial future next Wednesday, with a hike in gambling tax one of the hottest talking points. Initially, it was thought that she would introduce a blanket increase on all gambling tax. […]

The rumour mill surrounding the UK government’s planned increase of gambling tax continues to turn… with new reports suggesting that bookmakers will be spared from the raid. According to The Telegraph, the chancellor won’t raise the amount of tax paid by operators on their sports betting activities – providing a huge sigh of relief to […]

More than 350 key figures within British horse racing, including the likes of Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls, John Gosden and Oisin Murphy, have signed an open letter calling on the government to abandon their gambling tax hike plans. The letter, addressed to chancellor Rachel Reeves, warns of the ‘irreversible consequences’ that would be caused to […]

Domestic gambling giant Paddy Power is to close 57 of its betting shops in the UK and Ireland, with nearly 250 members of staff facing redundancy. Increasing cost pressures and challenging market conditions have been cited as the main reasons, with the government’s upcoming Autumn Budget likely to present even more problems for the sector. […]

Any gambling tax rises this November are expected to lead to tough trading conditions in the sector – with William Hill fearing the worst for their retail operation. Evoke, the holding company of William Hill’s high street assets, has warned that they could close as many as 200 betting shops if the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, […]