The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has issued a warning that the Government’s “unfair” business rates are fueling a high street exodus. According to the industry body, these rising costs are forcing betting shops and other businesses to close, ultimately threatening local employment, stifling investment and draining vital tax revenue from local councils.

The Growing Call for Business Rate Reform

This warning arrives as the debate over the future of Britain’s high streets intensifies. Ministers recently signaled a U-turn on planned business rates hikes for pubs—a move that recognised the extreme pressures facing “bricks-and-mortar” businesses. However, the BGC argues that this “common-sense approach” must be extended to the entire high street.

BGC CEO Grainne Hurst said: “Britain’s high streets are already under intense pressure, and an outdated and unfair business rates system is only accelerating their decline. Betting shops are closing not because communities don’t value them, but because the costs of running physical premises continue to rise.

“Ministers were right to recognise these pressures when it comes to pubs, and the same common-sense approach must now be applied across the high street. Without urgent reform, we risk losing thousands more local jobs, investment and vital footfall, while handing a growing advantage to the harmful gambling black market.”

Betting Shop Closures: By the Numbers

Official figures highlight the severity of the decline in the retail betting sector:

• 30% Decrease: The number of betting shops has fallen by nearly a third since 2019.

• Store Count: Locations dropped from 8304 in 2019 to 5825 in March 2025.

• Job Losses: This contraction has already resulted in over 10,000 job losses.

While betting shops did not face a direct tax increase in recent budgets, many operators manage both online and retail estates from a single balance sheet. Higher online gambling taxes inevitably impact the viability of physical shops, affecting staffing levels and long-term investment.

The Economic Impact on Local Communities

Despite the closures, the sector remains a pillar of the local economy. Currently, licensed betting shops:

• Support approximately 42,000 jobs.

• Contribute nearly £1 billion annually in direct tax.

• Generate £60 million per year in business rates for local authorities.

Furthermore, research by ESA Retail found that 89% of betting shop customers visit other nearby businesses during their trip, driving the “secondary spend” that keeps town centers alive.

The Risk of the Gambling Black Market

Beyond economics, the BGC warns of a social risk. Licensed shops are tightly regulated with strict age verification and safer gambling tools. Problem gambling rates in the UK remain low, at approximately 0.4% of the adult population, according to NHS surveys.

However, pushing customers away from regulated high street shops risks driving them towards the harmful illegal black market. These unlicensed operators offer no consumer protections, contribute nothing to the Treasury and provide no funding for problem gambling treatment or British sport.

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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has said that the new budget would cause thousands of job losses across the entire betting and gaming industry.

“The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget has been pitched as good news for horse racing, but in reality it spells thousands of job losses right across the entire betting and gaming industry and represents a major setback not only for that sector but for all the sports our industry supports,” Grainne Hurst, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said.

“Racing has seemingly been protected from higher betting duties. It sounds like a win, but anyone who understands how the sector operates knows that isn’t true. This exemption is cosmetic. Beneath the surface, this Budget delivers a devastating blow to the very ecosystem that racing relies on.

“What the Chancellor has actually done is impose one of the largest tax hikes on any industry in modern times. Online gaming duty will soar from 21% to 40% in 2026 – a 90% increase. Sports betting duty will rise from 15% to 25% the following year, up nearly 67%. The Treasury expects £1.1 billion a year in additional tax by 2029. These are not harmless revenue raisers; they will fundamentally reshape the market, and not for the better.

“Steep tax rises layered on top of major new regulation will not make gambling safer. They will do the opposite – pushing ordinary players out of the regulated sector, which protects consumers, and into the illegal, unsafe and highly harmful black market, where none of those safeguards exist. This is particularly worrying given that gambling harm in the UK remains low at 0.4%, according to both the NHS Health Survey and the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Driving customers into an unregulated black market risks this.

“Even the Treasury predicts a £500m increase in unlicensed activity and has allocated just £26m to counter it. That sum is a drop in the ocean given the scale of the threat, which this very Budget will accelerate.”

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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned that proposed new tax measures for the UK gambling industry could lead to a significant rise in harmful illegal gambling.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) admitted that the tax plans will reduce projected yield by around one-third, including £500 million lost by 2029-30 as consumers switch away from the regulated sector and towards the black market.

The OBR also states that around 90% of the duty increases will be passed on to consumers through higher prices or reduced payouts, making regulated products less attractive. It warns this will distort the market and drive more customers towards the illegal black market, where there are no protections, no tax contributions and no safer gambling checks.

Despite these warnings, the Government continues to claim the measures will raise £1.1 billion, a figure that industry experts, independent analysts including EY, and the BGC believe will not be achieved.

Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “The Government’s own figures show these tax plans will cause significant damage. Industry analysis based on modelling from EY finds that nearly 17,000 high-tech jobs will be lost across online betting and gaming, with over £6 billion in stakes diverted to the black market – a 140% increase in its size.

“These proposals also threaten shop closures, further job losses and a less competitive online market, meaning lower, not higher, long-term tax revenues. They also push more customers to the black market, where there are no protections, no taxes and no safeguards.”

The regulated betting and gaming sector currently contributes £6.8 billion to the UK economy, supports over 109,000 jobs, and provides £4 billion in taxes, including vital funding for racing, sport and tourism. But further tax rises threaten to weaken one of the UK’s most internationally competitive digital industries at a time when the illegal market is expanding rapidly.

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