Betfred is closing 132 betting shops, about 10% of its retail estate, as it responds to what it described as a tougher fiscal and regulatory environment in the UK. Joanne Whittaker, the company’s chief executive, said the affected shops were well run and supported by dedicated staff, but the current backdrop made it impossible to keep trading across the whole estate.
HM Treasury said the package of gambling duty reforms is designed to raise more than £1 billion a year. Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% in April, and a new 25% rate for remote betting is due from April 2027.
Bets placed in licensed bookmaking premises keep their existing rates, while bingo duty was abolished from 1 April. The Treasury also said the government is providing £26 million in new funding to the Gambling Commission over the next three years to tackle the illegal market and protect consumers.
The House of Commons Library said the 2025 Budget announced three measures to reform gambling taxation and estimated they would raise £810 million in 2026/27, rising to £1.16 billion in 2030/31. It said the consultation on remote gambling taxation ran from 23 April to 21 July 2025 and received 143 responses, and that the measures are now in the Finance Act 2026.
The Treasury said gambling has been shifting online, with remote gambling gross gaming yield rising by more than 60% between 2015/16 and 2023/24, while land-based gambling fell by more than 10% over the same period.
GamblingNews linked Betfred’s move to the near doubling of Remote Gaming Duty earlier in the year and said the company was reorganising as heavier taxes came in. The article also said Betfred was exploring expansion into Adult Gaming Centres, slot arcades that mainly offer slot machines alongside other gaming products.
Betfred could ultimately convert some existing betting shops into AGCs, subject to licensing approvals. The article said that would bring fresh regulatory challenges and could expose the business to further tax increases. Andy Burnham voiced strong opposition to AGCs, arguing that round-the-clock operation contributed to social harm.
Betfred had also been fined $1.2 million after the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission found numerous social responsibility failures.
