Overview

• Betfred’s leadership warned its retail estate would become unviable under the mooted changes, putting about 7,000 UK jobs at risk.
• Options under consideration include lifting sports-betting duty from 15% to 30% and raising machine and online slots to 50%, which analysts estimate could raise roughly £3.2bn.
• William Hill’s owner has prepared to shut up to 200 shops, Paddy Power has announced 57 closures, and Entain has cautioned more cuts are possible if taxes rise.
• Betfred argues the increases would reduce onshore activity and tax receipts by driving more customers to unregulated offshore sites.
• HM Treasury declined to comment on possible tax changes, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said gambling companies should pay their fair share of tax.