Betfred Moves to Close 132 Betting Shops and Cut More Than 600 Jobs

Betfred opened a consultation with staff on July 31 over closing 132 betting shops and cutting more than 600 jobs, with the first closures due in September.

The proposal covers more than a tenth of a UK estate of over 1,200 shops and would leave the bookmaker with about 1,100. It follows retail cuts at William Hill and Paddy Power over the past year, according to multiple industry reports.

Tax and Wage Costs Push Betfred Off the High Street

"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."

That was Chief Executive Jo Whittaker, who told affected staff of the proposal on the morning of July 31.

The duties that rose hardest, though, fall on screens rather than counters. Remote Gaming Duty, the tax on online casino profits, went from 21% to 40% on April 1, 2026, and a 25% rate for remote betting starts on April 1, 2027.

Bets taken on self-service terminals inside shops stay at 15%. The Treasury expects the package to raise more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) a year.

Online Play Absorbs What the Shops Lose

Great Britain had 5,669 betting shops in the three months to December 2025, Gambling Commission figures show. Remote casino games produced £1.5 billion ($2 billion) in gross gambling yield that quarter, the amount operators keep after paying winnings, against £613 million ($820 million) for betting inside shops.

Online casinos carry no rent, no counter staff and no closing time, and they take deposits from a phone at any hour. Older markets have already tipped: iGaming out-earned land-based casino slot machines in Pennsylvania for the first time in the fiscal year ending in June.

The Betfred consultation is under way, with closures set to begin in September. The 25% remote betting rate follows on April 1, 2027.