Betfred to Close 132 Betting Shops in the UK at a Loss of 600 Jobs

The decline of the high street betting shop in the UK continues at pace with Betfred the latest operator to make a bombshell announcement.

They will be closing 132 of their retail properties, which could see as many as 600 members of staff made redundant.

It continues an alarming trend in the sector, which has seen Paddy Power and William Hill close almost 300 shops between them in the past year.

Entain, meanwhile, announced in July that it plans to lay off as many as 500 members of staff as trading conditions remain challenging in the UK and worldwide.

Sad Hearts

The shop closures account for around 10% of Betfred’s entire retail empire in the UK, which has shrunk from nearly 1,700 shops in 2017 to 1,094 today.

Jo Whittaker, the chief executive at Betfred, revealed that the current ‘fiscal and regulatory environment’ was the cause of the decision, with increased National Insurance contributions and wage inflation – allied to increases in gambling taxes – making many of their shops unprofitable.

Although the tax paid by betting shops was frozen at 15% by the former chancellor Rachel Reeves in her bombshell Autumn Budget, the duty paid on online bets and casino games was hiked considerably – in the latter case, from 21% to 40%.

Given that most bookmakers are now cross-channel operators, with online sports betting and casino platforms, firms like Betfred have been hit hard by the far-reaching tax grab.

And with high street betting far from the reliable revenue stream it used to be as punters head online, their shops are the most likely target as part of cost cutting measures.

After announcing the shop closures and likely redundancies, Fred Done – the founder of Betfred way back in 1967 – said:

The company will try to redeploy as many staff as possible in other shops local to them. An alternative, in the future at least, could well be deployment in Adult Gaming Centres, with Betfred reportedly interested in entering the niche.

Adult Gaming

These Adult Gaming Centres, or AGCs as they are often known, offer customers an opportunity to play slot machines and other electronic casino games.

There’s in excess of 1,500 AGCs in the UK, which is an increase of 7% in just two years, owing to what have been described as ‘friendly’ licensing and planning laws.

It’s an opportunity for operators like Betfred to diversify into a different land-based space; particularly in cases where the licence terms of the existing betting shop can be changed to AGC approval.

It has been reported that Betfred are exploring the possibility of opening their first Adult Gaming Centres, which is a niche that – for now at least – perhaps offers better opportunities than standard sports betting.

However, there may be a reckoning on the horizon.

The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has already confirmed that he will be exploring ways to make life harder for sectors that he considers to be a blight on society.

Vape shops are one such area he wants to crack down on, while his thoughts on AGCs are abundantly clear – as described to The Mirror newspaper.

Burnham is expected to devolve more power to local councils, who will then be able to reject planning permission and block the licensing of AGCs in their towns and cities.