Entain CEO Stella David fears the upcoming gambling tax hike in the United Kingdom could force the closure of numerous betting shops.
Entain, the global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment group which owns the likes of Ladbrokes and Coral, is preparing for disaster in the event Chancellor Rachel Reeves goes ahead with the controversial proposal.
Reeves recently argued gambling operators “should pay their fair share” and is widely expected to harmonise all gambling tax into a single rate in her autumn budget next month.
As of today, online gambling is taxed in two categories – a general duty for racing and pool betting levied at 15% of gross profit and a remote gaming duty for casino games and slot machines taxed at 21%.
It is feared the number could be set at around 30% and the British Horseracing Authority is anticipating losses of up to £160 million on the sport alone – putting its future at risk, threatening thousands of jobs, rural communities and vital funding for horse welfare.
The government’s idea is that the extra income will fund scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
However analysts are worried that the tax hike could actually reduce government income, questioning the maths and statistics behind the movement.
In her first interview since becoming permanent chief executive of Entain in April, David told The Times the increased taxes would force the group “to consider its investment level in the UK.”
“Every point of [tax] increase would actually have an impact that certain shops would become unviable…there is no level that does not have some consequence, the scale depends on how far it goes.”
Entain is one of the 20 biggest taxpayers in the UK, contributing over £513 million to the Treasury last year and overall the gambling sector forks out £4 billion in tax every 12 months.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
