Betfred delivers on plans to scale down its betting shops footprint

• Betfred confirms it's closing 132 shops, about 10% of its UK retail network, putting up to 600 jobs at risk
• CEO Jo Whittaker says a "tougher fiscal and regulatory environment" has made it impossible to keep trading all its shops
• The move follows co-founder Fred Done's recent warning that the company could eventually shutter its entire betting shop business

Betfred has confirmed it is closing over 100 shops in a statement released to the media outlet Sky News. The news comes amid a general trend of scaling down physical operations among Britain’s main gambling companies, citing a tougher regulatory climate as a primary reason.

Betfred delivers on plans to shutter more shops with 600 jobs affected

The shuttering of 132 physical shops, or about 10% of the company’s retail network in the United Kingdom, will have an immediate impact on the company’s headcount, with as many as 600 jobs potentially set to go as Betfred delivers on its plans.

"It is with deep regret that we have today started a consultation with colleagues working in more than 130 of our shops regarding a proposal to close those locations," Betfred Chief Executive Jo Whittaker told Sky News.

These closures are not completely unexpected, as the company has been talking about the shutting down of many of its venues, if not potentially all of its betting shops, as suggested by Fred Done, the company’s co-founder and chair, just recently.

Done openly said that there was a possibility to shutter the entire betting shop business, which could potentially affect 1,300 venues along with a workforce of 7,500 people.

Done has rued the fact that the company might find itself forced to consider this, but has argued that it is part of the natural progression of the industry, not least occasioned by regulatory developments.

Betfred is not the only company to have considered a similar move, however, with other British betting companies also raising alarm over the increase of the betting tax from 21% to 40% and citing concerns about the new rate of the general betting duty to be set at 25%, along with other tweaks.

Entain is another company to have recently gone through a similar decision to reduce its workforce, cutting 500 positions, along with Flutter Entertainment having enacted layoffs across the board for several months already.

Betfred has said that it has been trying hard to protect all of its sites and colleagues who work in them, but compounding economic issues have all contributed to the difficult decisions.

Companies such as Evoke have also reduced or considered reducing their betting shops, impacting jobs.

Horse racing also impacted as Betfred’s trend of shutting shops unfolds

"These are well-run shops, staffed by dedicated colleagues, and it is incredibly hard to see any of them close, but the current fiscal and regulatory environment has made it impossible to keep trading all our shops," Whittaker said, adding that the company was committed to supporting the soon-to-be-released colleagues.

However, the effect of the closures won’t be felt just by employees. According to at least one insider, the closures will directly impact revenues received by horse racing, with each shop estimated to be contributing £31,000.

While Betfred has not yet committed to executing a wholesale closure of its betting shops, the downward trend has been evident. In 2017, the company owned and operated 1,680 shops, with the latest reduction pushing the number to 1,094.

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