BGC warns Budget tax rises threaten 36,000 betting shop jobs
The Betting and Gaming Council has warned the Chancellor ahead of the UK Budget that raising gambling duties could cost up to 16,000 betting shop jobs and leave the Treasury worse off, citing independent EY modelling commissioned by the trade body. The council set out its case in a press release on October 13, urging the government to spare Britain’s betting shops from further tax rises.
Under the EY projections the council cites, a Machine Games Duty rate of 40 per cent would put as many as 16,000 jobs on the line, with some 1,500 betting shops and up to 34 casinos facing closure. The modelling also points to a hit of as much as £124 million to government receipts, because the sector already pays more than £4 billion a year in tax and a higher rate would shrink the base it is charged on.
What the council is asking for
BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst called on the Chancellor to rule out any increase in Machine Games Duty, assess the damage from taxes already raised, and halt a planned rise in General Betting Duty scheduled for April 2027. Remote Gaming Duty has already been increased to 40 per cent, the council notes.
“Our message to the Chancellor is simple: rule out any increase in Machine Games Duty, assess the damage already caused by higher taxes and halt the planned rise in General Betting Duty,” Hurst said in the release.
Where the jobs sit
The BGC says betting shops support more than 36,000 jobs, more than 80 per cent of them outside London in market towns, former industrial communities and seaside towns. It says 19 per cent of betting shop employees are under 25, against 11 per cent across the wider economy, and women make up half the workforce. Of the positions the modelling flags as exposed, 27 per cent are in the North of England, a share that climbs to nearly four in ten once Scotland is counted.
The regulated betting and gaming industry as a whole supports 109,000 jobs and contributes £6.8 billion to the UK economy, according to the BGC, which also says betting shops contribute around £140 million a year to British horseracing and that its members give more than £40 million a year to sports including the EFL and rugby league.
The council pointed to last year’s Budget, when the Treasury acknowledged that betting shops on the high street sustain comparatively high employment. No Machine Games Duty change has been announced, and the Treasury has not commented on the council’s demands.
Renata Kovacs has spent the better part of a decade following the regulatory shifts and licensing battles that define how gambling markets open, close, and evolve across Europe and beyond. She came up through the legal and compliance side of the industry before shifting her focus to journalism and analysis, giving her a perspective that sits closer to the operator room than the press box. Her coverage tends to cut through the noise and get straight to what a regulatory change actually means for the businesses and players involved.