Betfred to Close 132 Betting Shops and Cut 600 Jobs as It Plots Adult Gaming Centre Move

British bookmaker Betfred has confirmed they will be closing 132 of their high street betting shops in the UK, at a cost of around 600 jobs.

The increase in gambling tax has been cited as the main reason, with a company spokesman revealing that the hike had made it ‘impossible’ for some of their retail estate to operate profitably.

The closures will account for approximately 10% of all Betfred shops on the UK high street, continuing a worrying trend in the number of shops being shuttered permanently.

But the firm, headed by the Done brothers, might not be done with land-based gambling just yet as they ponder a switch to Adult Gaming Centres instead.

No Choice

Fred Done, Betfred’s co-founder, had warned of closures before the Autumn Budget was unveiled by the government – back when the Gambling Tax hike was just a rumour.

But when the former chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced the tax grab, it was perhaps worse than even industry insiders feared, with big hikes on both land-based and online betting.

Horse racing was exempt from the duty rises, sparking celebrations from many in the sport, but the tax hike in other niches has led to the shop cull – the Betfred closures, meanwhile, are expected to cost the sport around £4 million a year in lost media rights and betting levy payments.

Betfred’s chief executive, Jo Whittaker, said:

“We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.

“These are well-run shops, staffed by dedicated colleagues, and it is incredibly hard to see any of them close, but the current fiscal and regulatory environment has made it impossible to keep trading all our shops.”

The company is trying to relocate some of the staff affected by the shop cull.

The downward trend in high street betting continues at pace, with Betfred’s closures following those of Entain, Flutter and Evoke already this year at a cost of more than 500 jobs.

Speaking about the prospect of staff redundancies, Done said: “After the closure of these [shops] we’ll be at 1,090, so we’ll have closed 600 shops over the last six years. It’s like killing your own babies.

“This is people’s lives and we’ve got a heart, and I’ve got a sad heart today. I’m so sorry to make these sorts of announcements, it’s killing me.”

New Venture

The Betfred brand will remain on the UK high street, with the Done brothers still supportive of their remaining shops.

And they may be set to unveil a new venture, with reports suggesting that a move into the Adult Gaming Centres (AGC) space may be in the offing.

Adult Gaming Centres are essentially arcades that feature slot machines and other gambling games. They have grown rapidly in towns and cities across Great Britain, with operators like Merkur and Admiral enjoying considerable expansion in recent years.

It has been suggested that as well as identifying new AGC properties, particularly in the north of England, Betfred may also be tempted to transform some of their closing shops into Adult Gaming Centres, subject to a successful licence change.

But it’s a switch that may not come without more regulatory woes… and potentially yet another tax hike. Andy Burnham, in the days before he was unveiled as the new Prime Minister, said:

“I'm a very big critic of adult gaming centres, you can see they're open 24/7 and all the social harms that come from that.

“Again, councils need stronger control to stop the spread of those things.”