Betfred Founder Predicts ALL Betting Shops Will Be Closed By 2030

Having been in the industry for nearly 60 years, Fred Done certainly knows a thing or two about the gambling sector.

And the Betfred owner has made a stark prediction: all betting shops in the UK will be permanently closed by 2030 if the government continues with their anti-gambling crusade.

Done has sensationally warned that the high street ‘will be dead’ if the chancellor, John Healey, presses on with plans to double Machine Games Duty (MGD) to 40% in his Autumn Budget.

The End of Betting Shops?

The 83-year-old, who famously funded the purchase of his first Betfred shop after placing a winning bet on England to win the 1966 World Cup, was speaking exclusively to the Financial Times.

He said his firm would have no choice but to close 495 more of his betting shops if MGD is hiked – causing the loss of more than 2,500 jobs.

That comes on top of the 132 shop closures that were announced earlier this summer, which will see as many as 600 jobs lost.

Done rejected the idea, put forward by House of Lords peers, that the industry was ‘scaremongering’ in its damning assessment of the damage that could be done. “The high street will be dead… we’ve already worked it out that with the increases in taxes and salaries and other wages it won’t be worth operating,” he said.

Black Market Boom

What will happen if there’s no betting shops left by 2030? Done is in no doubt that such an outcome would lead more customers to the burgeoning black market, which is already increasing in size at a rapid rate.

“Do you think when there’s no betting shops punters will stop betting? The answer is no,” Done predicted. “They will find a way to bet, like in the prohibition.”

While the black market presents a challenge to licensed operators, there are potential ramifications for punters when using illegal betting sites – potentially exposing themselves to identity theft and financial fraud.

“There won’t be the controls, there won’t be the taxes and there won’t be funding for racing.”

Losing the Race

That last point made by Done is particularly chilling.

Horse racing is a sport that is heavily funded by bookmakers in the UK. They pay 10% of their gross profits into the Horserace Betting Levy, while betting shops also pay a significant sum to broadcast live racing in their properties – approximately £70,000 per shop, in fact.

So if Done was to close 495 more of his shops, that’s £34 million a year that horse racing will be missing out on… not to mention the financial damage caused if other operators choose to follow Betfred’s lead and close even more stores.

Bookmakers also contribute to horse racing through race and meeting sponsorships, but Done has admitted he could be about to call time on his own investment into the sport.

Betfred Pulls Super League Sponsorship

At the time of writing, Betfred sponsors all five of English racing’s ‘classic’ races on the flat – from the Epsom Derby to the St Leger.

However, Done has refused to confirm whether or not he will extend his deal, which could force UK racing to seek out a new commercial partner – likely at a much lower paygrade than Betfred currently provides.

The firm will end its long association with rugby’s Super League at the end of the current season. In a press statement, Rugby League chiefs bemoaned the loss of ‘one of the most significant commercial relationships in the sport's recent history.’

Will horse racing be the next sport to lose out?