Betfred reports strong results with retail betting still the biggest contributor

Betfred has reported annual turnover of £995.6m following its warning about the future of retail betting.

UK.- Betfred reported turnover of £995.6m for the 52 weeks ending March 29, 2026, according to its latest filing with Companies House. The bookmaker’s final annual report before the hike in Remote Gaming Duty in April records gross profit of £720m and profit after tax of £39.6m during the period.

While both figures were substantially lower than the £1.07bn gross profit and £128.8m profit after tax recorded in the previous report, comparisons are complicated by the fact that the prior reporting period covered 78 weeks rather than 52 weeks.

Retail betting shops remained the largest contributor to Betfred’s business, generating turnover of £544m from a network of 1,293 betting shops. That estate was smaller than the 1,351 locations operated a year earlier and is set to shrink further after the company confirmed in July that 132 Betfred shops would close before the end of 2026, putting up to 600 jobs at risk.

Founder Fred Done, who remains chairman after stepping down as chief executive in 2021, recently claimed that a proposal to double of Machine Games Duty (MGD) in Britain could completely wipe out Betfred’s retail betting operations by 2030. Betfred has ended its headline sponsorship of rugby league’s Super League, and Done has stated that sponsorship of all five British Classics would also be withdrawn if Machine Games Duty were to double.

Nevertheless, the latest filing shows that Betfred has continued to expand its online business as it approaches its 60th anniversary next year. Online gambling turnover reached £451.7m during the 52-week period compared to £563.6m in the previous 78-week reporting period and £197m in the 2022-23 financial year.

To support this transition, the company continued to invest heavily in technology. Capitalised development costs rose to £110.4m, while a further £22.1m was allocated to research and development to strengthen software platforms, data analytics capabilities and mobile products.

Operating costs also increased. Employee expenses rose by £19.2m on a like-for-like 12-month basis despite total headcount falling from 9,622 to 9,463 employees. Betfred attributed the higher costs to increases in the National Minimum Wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions.