BGC notes that more than 540 betting shops have closed since 2025

• BGC has released a statement cautioning against further tax increases in Britain on the sports betting and online casino sector
• The current changes are already impacting business across land-based and iGaming operations, with the BGC pointing out that these are connected
• BGC’s boss warns that the "worst" is yet to come, and cautions restraint on the part of lawmakers

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has released a new report tracking the closure of betting shops in Britain, with the trade body assessing how many properties have shuttered since the 2025 Budget and how many jobs have been impacted as a result.

With more shops closing every few months, including Betfred recently announcing a string of closures itself, the sector has come underheavy pressure, the BGC has noted in its latest press statement shared with the media.

The headline figures here include 540 high-street betting shops that have closed, with 4,500 jobs going away as a result. The BGC has taken a harder look at this trend, with widespread shop closures starting in 2019 and resulting in more than 3,000 properties closed, along with 15,000 jobs lost.

The BGC notes that presently, the remaining properties support around 37,500 jobs, and they generate value for the neighborhoods where they are based. The BGC has been warning against increasing pressure on the regulated sector, because companies that operate these betting shops could be driven into further closures.

The reason behind this is simple enough. Betting companies operate their physical and online businesses as an integrated ecosystem, meaning that changes in tax on one side affect the other, even if lawmakers treat them as separate ecosystems, the BGC argues.

BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst commented, arguing that the numbers spoke for themselves.

"Since the Budget, betting operators have announced the closure of 540 high-street shops, with around 4,500 jobs lost. Betfred’s decision to close 132 shops, putting more than 600 jobs at risk, is the latest evidence of the pressure now facing the sector."

BGC warns against treating sectors separately - they are integrated, and knock on effects can be felt

Hurst has called the doubling of online gaming duty "unprecedented" and as one of the key drivers behind job disruption, but also investment.

"And worse is still to come. The forthcoming increase in online sports betting duty will pile even more pressure on operators, threatening jobs and investment while taking vital funding and sponsorship away from British sport," Hurst argued.

Ultimately, the BGC treats the changes as a source of economic angst that will impact more than gambling companies' operational footprint - it would have widespread consequences felt across communities, businesses, sports, and the country’s tax base, even though the changes are touted as a way to increase short-term windfall for the Treasury.

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