Betfred Founder Fred Done Warns Further UK Tax Rises Threaten Horse Racing Sponsorship

Fred Done, founder of Betfred, has warned that the UK gambling industry faces a breaking point. Additional tax increases in the Autumn Budget on October 28 could force withdrawal from major horse racing sponsorships and accelerate the closure of high street shops. The comments come as the sector absorbs last year’s sharp duty rises and widespread retail contraction.

As reported by iGaming Future, Done and his brother paid £400 million (US$531.21 million) to the Exchequer last year. Betfred operates 1,100 shops, down from a peak of 1,650, primarily in working-class areas of North West England. The company has also ended its sponsorship of rugby league.

Toll of Recent Duty Increases

Last autumn the government raised online gaming duty from 21 percent to 40 percent and the digital sports levy from 15 percent to 25 percent, with full effect from April. The changes contributed to significant retrenchment. Betfred closed 132 shops in the last year, Flutter Entertainment’s Paddy Power shuttered 57 in the UK and Ireland, and Entain closed 70 Ladbrokes Coral sites. Evoke, owner of William Hill, sold for £243 million after reducing its estate by around 250 shops.

Done described Betfred customers as working people rather than high rollers. Their average bet is £10.87 (US$14.42). Each closure leaves a community gap and severs local economic links, he said. “Every shop we close leaves a hole in its community.”

Risks to Racing and Retail Viability

Betting shops derive at least 50 percent of income from gaming machines. Proposals to double machine gaming duty on Category B slots to 40 percent, from the current five to 25 percent range, would prove devastating. Done stated that without fixed-odds betting terminals there is no retail industry. “You can’t squeeze any more out of this industry. Every penny more of tax will kill investment, kill jobs, kill horse-racing and send problem gamblers into the arms of unlicensed and unregulated black and grey-market operators.”

The upcoming budget will determine whether licensed operators receive room to sustain investment or face accelerated decline across both retail and sponsorship commitments. Excessive pressure risks shrinking the regulated sector while expanding unregulated alternatives.

Reporting: iGaming Future

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