Betfred has announced closure of 132 betting shops across the UK, which is around 10% of the retail estate and the move is expected to see some 600 people lose their jobs.
According to the operator, the company has started a consultation with the impacted staff as the closure comes to reduce the higher costs of operation as well as the growing pressure of regulations.
The managing director of the company, Joanne Whittaker expressed her deep regret saying that the decision was made because of a wide range of issues like increase in the amount of employers’ National Insurance, high inflation of wages, increase of taxes on gambling, and other many uncertainties of the economy.
Whittaker said:
We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice. 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. Our priority now is to support the colleagues affected, and to continue serving customers and communities across the rest of our estate.
The announcement has come after a warning statement made by Fred Done, the founder of the Betfred, who informed about the difficulties that the company may face because of the increasing taxes on gambling that would have an impact on retail operations of Betfred.
