William Hill and Ladbrokes to Close Hundreds of Shops as Tax Hike Bites

_{Disappearing shops coming soon to the high street. (Image: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)}

by Daniel Smythe

William Hill's parent company Evoke and Ladbrokes owner Entain announced a combined total of nearly 250 betting shop closures in the first days of April, directly citing the doubling of Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40%, which came into force on 1 April 2026.

The closures, affecting shops across the UK and Ireland, are due to begin in May and put thousands of jobs at risk.

The tax increase, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget in November 2025, represents the steepest single rise in British gambling duty in recent history. The impact has been swift.

Evoke confirmed on 31 March that around 200 William Hill shops, roughly 15% of its 1,300-strong UK estate, would close from May. Entain followed on 1 April, confirming 45 Ladbrokes closures across the island of Ireland, comprising 39 in the Republic and six in Northern Ireland, with up to 250 jobs at risk.

Tax Hike Triggers Immediate Closures

The closures did not come without warning. Evoke CEO Per Widerström said at a trading update in January 2026 that the company's plans included the closure of retail stores that were "no longer sustainable." He made those comments as Evoke reported full-year 2025 revenue of £1.79 billion, up 2% year on year, with adjusted EBITDA expected to rise by 14% to 15%.

Evoke cited tax changes as a primary driver, warning previously that the combined effect of the duty reforms could add up to £135 million in costs once fully implemented. An Evoke spokesperson said: "Following a thorough review and further to increased cost pressures on the regulated sector, including significant tax increases announced by the government in last year's autumn budget, from May we are closing a number of shops that are no longer sustainable."

Online Thrives as High Street Falters

The news underlined a widening divide between the fortunes of the high street and the online operation. Gross gambling yield from UK high street betting shops fell 7% year on year to £549 million in the final quarter of 2025. Online, the picture was rather different: Evoke's preliminary trading note specifically flagged 888Casino as a standout performer in Q4, lending weight to the view that the wider business is not in distress, just its bricks-and-mortar arm.

A Pattern of Cuts Across the Industry

The latest closures are the most significant in a series of cuts that have reshaped the UK betting landscape over the past six months. Flutter Entertainment confirmed in October 2025 that it would close 57 Paddy Power betting shops across the UK and Ireland, putting nearly 250 staff at risk.

Flutter attributed those closures to cost pressures and changing customer behaviour, and said at the time that they were not directly linked to tax developments, though it warned that a higher gambling tax 

"could have a significant impact on jobs and investment across the industry."

Betfred founder Fred Done warned the BBC in November 2025 that a tax increase to 40% would leave "no profit in the business", though his forecast of industry-wide job losses in the tens of thousands has not yet been verified.

Ladbrokes Ireland: A Sale That Never Came

For Entain, the Ladbrokes closures in Ireland follow a separate blow: talks with Dundalk-based Bar One Racing over a potential sale of its Ladbrokes chain broke down without a deal. An Entain spokesperson told the Irish News the planned closures 

"reflect sustained cost pressures, long-term changes in customer behaviour and the growing competitive threat from the unlicensed market."
 

Remote betting in Ireland operates under a different regulatory framework, but the operating economics are closely linked to those in the UK, and operators across both islands are reassessing the viability of physical premises.

The Black Market Threat Grows

The scale of disruption to UK high streets may not be finished. As licensed operators retreat from the high street, the threat from unlicensed competitors is growing. Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Grainne Hurst has warned that black market operators cannot be ignored, with iGaming licensing expert Ivan Kirselev reporting that the black market has grown from 0.5% of the regulated market's value to between 10% and 12%.

An Office for Budget Responsibility forecast suggests £500 million in potential tax revenue could be lost by 2030 due to players drifting to offshore online casino  sites. The government has pledged £26 million over the next three years to tackle the illicit market, but with closures accelerating the shift away from regulated retail, the scale of the challenge is growing.

What Comes Next for Evoke and the Industry

Evoke is set to publish its full 2025 annual results on 29 April and has confirmed it is also exploring a potential part or full sale of the business. How the company navigates that process, and whether further closures follow, will be the next significant test of how seriously the new duty regime has changed the economics of UK gambling.

Casinos.com reached out for comment to Brigid Simmonds OBE, former Chief Executive of the Association of British Bookmakers, and Matt Zarb-Cousin, Director of Clean Up Gambling. We did not receive a response by the time of publication.