Betfred co-founder and chair Fred Done has told the BBC the business might close its entire retail operation if gambling taxes are hiked as expected.
Betfred co-founder and chair Fred Done told BBC News the business might close its entire UK retail operation if gambling taxes are hiked as expected.
Done said the likely tax hike, with rates as high as 50% floated by think tanks the IPPR and the SMF, was the biggest threat to his business since he founded Betfred in 1967 with his brother.
The closure of Betfred’s retail network would put approximately 7,500 people out of work under a tax rise of this scale, while Done said even a 5% increase would lead to 400 job losses.
It follows other high street bookmakers, including Paddy Power owner Flutter, William Hill parent evoke and Ladbrokes/Coral operator Entain, warning that many of their branches would close their doors in the event of tax rises.
Done 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,” he said.
Industry trade body the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) has slammed the “exorbitant” tax hike proposals, which it argued would drive consumers to the black market and result in UK job losses.
Betfred boss: ‘Once the industry is closed down, it’s gone’
The Betfred co-founder added: “Once the [UK] industry is closed down, it’s gone. People will still bet, but they’ll bet offshore with it. There’s plenty of bookmakers offshore who happen to take the bets, who don’t pay anything to this country.”
A study from the Netherlands, where gambling tax rates were recently boosted to 37.8%, revealed the total GGR share held by the licensed market total has fallen below 50% for the first time since launching, as higher spending punters increasingly bet using offshore sites.
Some campaigners and staff at gambling-harm focused think tanks have dismissed concerns about job losses from possible tax hikes, calling them small in the overall scheme of things and compared to the potential increased taxes to be raised.
An SMF director told the audience at an event at the Labour Party conference: “I can understand that there will be people in Stoke where bet365 is, but we’re talking about £2bn, and unless they’re all driving Ferraris in Stoke, that is a lot of money, and there isn’t that many jobs in Stoke based on bet365.”