More than 540 high-street betting shops have closed since last UK budget, gambling sector says
Although there was no tax rise for betting shops, operators have closed hundreds of retail outlets, cutting 4,500 jobs.
UK.- The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has revealed that despite the UK government’s decision to freeze the tax rate on retail betting, operators have closed 540 high-street betting shops since November’s Autumn Budget. That led to the loss of 4,500 jobs, the lobby group says.
Operators had warned last year that a rise in betting duty for retail bookmakers would lead to large-scale closures on the high street. In the end, tax remained the same for retail, but the closures came anyway. Some operators have blamed the rise in Remote Gaming Duty, which has prompted them to make cuts in less profitable land-based operations that were already in decline.
Around 3,000 UK betting shops have closed since 2019, raising doubts about whether costs are to blame or whether it’s more to do with the shift to online play, including via the same operators. The BGC’s argument is that it’s all connected.
“Major betting operators manage their retail and online businesses as integrated operations, meaning significant increases in tax and regulatory costs affecting one part of the business inevitably influence investment decisions across the whole company, including the future of high-street shops and jobs,” the BGC argues.
The latest figures come after the new Labour prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to eliminate the “aim to permit” rule, which limited local authorities’ powers to reject applications for new betting shops or gaming halls. The BGC argues that its figures disprove suggestions that betting shops are spreading. It also warned against lumping licensed businesses together with illegal operators outside the regulated sector, noting that the remaining betting shops in the UK support around 37,500 jobs and generate valuable footfall for neighbouring businesses.
“The numbers speak for themselves”
Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the BGC, said: “The numbers speak for themselves. The BGC repeatedly warned the previous Chancellor that further tax increases would cost jobs, close businesses and damage growth. Since the Budget, betting operators have announced the closure of 540 high-street shops, with around 4,500 jobs lost. Betfred’s decision to close 132 shops, putting more than 600 jobs at risk, is the latest evidence of the pressure now facing the sector.
“The unprecedented doubling of online gaming duty is already hammering betting businesses. The Treasury may pretend these tax rises only hit online gambling, but that is simply not how the industry works. Betting companies run their shops and online businesses together, so when costs are driven up in one part of the business, jobs, investment and high-street shops suffer across the rest.
“And worse is still to come. The forthcoming increase in online sports betting duty will pile even more pressure on operators, threatening jobs and investment while taking vital funding and sponsorship away from British sport. Betting shops are an integral part of Britain’s high streets. The real threat is more empty units and fewer local jobs. Heaping further pressure on these highly regulated businesses will only result in even more closures, more job losses, less investment and less money for sport.
“These are the real-world consequences of the previous Chancellor’s damaging tax rises. They are bad for jobs, bad for high streets and bad for sport – and they hand a huge advantage to the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.”
