Gambling Bosses Urge Chancellor to Rule Out Further Tax Rises

^{HM Treasury's offices in Whitehall, where Chancellor John Healey will deliver his inaugural Budget next month. (Photo: Tilman2007 / Wikimedia Commons)}

The bosses of six of Britain's biggest gambling companies have written to Chancellor John Healey urging him to rule out any further rise in gambling duties at next month's Budget, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said on 14 October 2026.

The letter, signed by the chief executives of Entain, Flutter UK & Ireland, bet365, Bally's Corporation, evoke and Betfred, asks Healey to rule out an increase in Machine Games Duty, the tax on profits from gaming machines, and to pause a planned rise in General Betting Duty due in April 2027 until the impact of earlier tax changes has been properly assessed.

Hundreds of Shops Already Closed Since the Last Budget

The BGC has also been running a public campaign over the Budget, urging the Government to back high street betting shops rather than tax them further. The new letter, described on the BGC's own site in its published statement, goes further by naming the operators behind it.

The letter states that more than 600 betting shops have closed and 10,250 jobs across online and retail betting have been lost or announced for redundancy since the 2025 Budget. It points to closures at Betfred and William Hill, shops under review at Paddy Power and 300 job cuts announced by bet365 in Stoke-on-Trent.

Gambling Commission data cited in the letter shows the number of betting shops in Great Britain has fallen by around 38% since 2015. The CEOs argue a further tax rise would accelerate that decline rather than raise more money for the Treasury.

EY Modelling Points to Thousands More Job Losses

The letter cites EY analysis commissioned by the BGC, which estimates that doubling Machine Games Duty on Category B machines to 40% could lead to between 690 and 1,470 further betting shop closures, 28 to 34 casino closures and 11,600 to 15,900 job losses, with a net loss to the Exchequer of up to £124m. A third of the casino closures and almost a quarter of the betting shop closures would fall in the North of England, the analysis found. Horseracing alone would lose at least £40m through reduced levy and media-rights payments, according to the letter.

The casino-closure estimate echoes warnings already made by individual operators; Genting has separately said a tax rise could force it to close more than a third of its UK casinos.

'Our members have delivered a stark warning to the Chancellor. Further tax rises will close more businesses, cost thousands more jobs and damage British sport, while potentially leaving the Treasury worse off,' said Grainne Hurst, chief executive of the BGC.

Hurst added: 'The industry is already grappling with the near doubling of Remote Gaming Duty. The Chancellor must rule out further tax rises at this Budget, including on Machine Games Duty, and pause the planned increase in General Betting Duty. You cannot tax businesses that have closed, and the Government risks destroying jobs and investment without raising a penny more for the Treasury.'

The sector is already absorbing a near-doubling of Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% introduced this year, which the letter says has already driven many of the recent closures. The letter was sent roughly two weeks before Healey's first Budget as Chancellor, following earlier individual warnings from operators including Betfred founder Fred Done, who has threatened to close his entire betting shop estate if the tax rises go ahead.

The Treasury has not yet confirmed its plans for gambling duties, with Healey's Budget expected next month.