Comments Welcome Betfred May Close High Street Operations if Taxes Rise

[dunover]

The chairman of Betfred has claimed they may have to close all their 1000+ high street shops and premises if Rachel Reeves' planned gaming tax rises are implemented in the upcoming budget as they would no longer be eceonomically viable, other brands have suggested they could too:

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[PMKFRUITPRO]

Good.

 

[slaman29]

And they will all move to Europe. From less tax to no tax.

 

[Lemon]

My heart bleeds purple piss.

 

[YouTubeSlots]

Shit website and a shit bookmakers. Good riddance!

 

[dunover]

Yayyy!! More vape shops, nail bars and Turkish barbers!! (If in London add American candy shops to list.)

 

[YouTubeSlots]

Yayyy!! More vape shops, nail bars and Turkish barbers!! (If in London add American candy shops to list.)

So true, every u.k highstreet just full of asian barbers or kurdistan etc and fucking empty vape shops or those ice cream bars. So obvious its criminal gangs laundering its embarrasing.

Its intimidating, I feel like after they cut my hair they might ask if i can lend them a tenner. lol

 

[geordiecolin]

We are beginning to see the efects of AI on the jobs market too. They are all looking at the savings to be made and the effects on employment will be massive. We are slowly becoming "useless eaters"
Nestle have announced huge cuts due to the use of AI. I wonder if my ex wife will lose her nice management job at their Gatwick head office?

 

[dunover]

So if this happens, and other bookmakers follow, where is granny going to go to lay her £5 on the national? What's going to happen to the entertaining YT videos of punters smashing FOBTs up?

Unless they repurpose the shops as 'Gaming Centres' with B3s in?

 

[Webzcas]

Got to feel for the staff at all these shops as no doubt they won't be making alternative positions available in Head Office.

But the average town high street nowadays consists of up to half a dozen bookies, charity shops, pound shops, nail bars, barbers, vape shops and the odd coffee shop.

These out of town retail parks and the likes of Amazon have killed the high street.

I am fortunate as live close to Bath, which still has a vibrant city centre, thanks largely down to the tourist footfall. But the town I live in, the shops are pretty much what I described above.

 

[Reelsoffun]

Boo Hoo …… NOT! LOL

 

[dunover]

What surprises me is that they say even at present over 300 of their premises lose money.

"It [tax] doesn't even need to go up to 50%. If it went up to anywhere like 40% or even 35% there is no profit in the business. We would have to close it down. I'm talking job losses. We're talking probably 7,500," he said.

He said 300 of his shops were "currently losing money" and claimed a 5% increase on gambling taxes would raise that number to 430.

"Once the [UK] industry is closed down, it's gone. People will still bet, but they'll bet offshore with it. There's plenty of bookmakers offshore who happen to take the bets, who don't pay anything to this country," he said.

Can't argue with the second bit there....

 

[ChopleyIOM]

The chairman of Betfred has claimed they may have to close all their 1000+ high street shops and premises if Rachel Reeves' planned gaming tax rises are implemented in the upcoming budget as they would no longer be eceonomically viable, other brands have suggested they could too:

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Time to break this fella out.

 

[andysbetting1187]

The chairman of Betfred has claimed they may have to close all their 1000+ high street shops and premises if Rachel Reeves' planned gaming tax rises are implemented in the upcoming budget as they would no longer be eceonomically viable, other brands have suggested they could too:

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[winner2021]

If this tax comes in will it affect any of us online?

 

[andysbetting1187]

I would say yes - possibly through the lowering of RTP's

 

[PMKFRUITPRO]

What surprises me is that they say even at present over 300 of their premises lose money.

"It [tax] doesn't even need to go up to 50%. If it went up to anywhere like 40% or even 35% there is no profit in the business. We would have to close it down. I'm talking job losses. We're talking probably 7,500," he said.

He said 300 of his shops were "currently losing money" and claimed a 5% increase on gambling taxes would raise that number to 430.

"Once the [UK] industry is closed down, it's gone. People will still bet, but they'll bet offshore with it. There's plenty of bookmakers offshore who happen to take the bets, who don't pay anything to this country," he said.

Can't argue with the second bit there....

Why keep 300 shops that are losing money open???

I dispute that claim.

 

[Webzcas]

If this tax comes in will it affect any of us online?

I am sure there will be a trickle down effect, yes. But I am sure there will be other measures that will be introduced in the budget on Nov 26th, that will make us all forget about a potential new gambling tax

 

[andysbetting1187]

I am sure there will be a trickle down effect, yes. But I am sure there will be other measures that will be introduced in the budget on Nov 26th, that will make us all forget about a potential new gambling tax

I think thats the piece a lot of people are overlooking mate - if the government squeeze the working man any further, its irrelevant what RTP/Gambling tax changes they implement as people won't have the disposable income to gamble anyway (or it will be seriously reduced)

 

[dunover]

Why keep 300 shops that are losing money open???

I dispute that claim.

That's how big business works - scale. Many chains subsidize break-even or loss-making parts with profits from elsewhere to maintain size and presence and aggregate turnover figures.

Look at Bet365, the #1 around much of the world, where the vast majority of profits are made outside the UK and without which you wouldn't have the things UK customers enjoy there.

There's also the competition aspect to consider - shutting the 300 loss-makers would simply hand their custom to rival companies.

 

[ChopleyIOM]

I am sure there will be a trickle down effect, yes. But I am sure there will be other measures that will be introduced in the budget on Nov 26th, that will make us all forget about a potential new gambling tax

This will not got better until the underlying cause is addressed, namely wealth inequality.

None of the major political parties are going to fix it, or are even prepared to accept that the problem exists, notable shout out to The Greens for doing so.

Somehow the UK is the sixth largest economy in the world, and yet everyone is skint, including the government. This begs the question, who's got all the money then?

 

[dunover]

This will not got better until the underlying cause is addressed, namely wealth inequality.

None of the major political parties are going to fix it, or are even prepared to accept that the problem exists, notable shout out to The Greens UK Communist Party for doing so.

Wow, led by a swivel-eyed sky-shouting saliva-frothing idealist, someone who makes Corbyn look sane.

Imagine him in charge and the little Swedish Doom Goblin pulling his strings, Melta Iceberg or whatever she's called.

Anyway, back to the topic in hand and the real world, it represents the continuing erosion of pleasures once taken for granted by the working man, a cheap pint, punt on the horses and a warm home.

And as we're on a gambling topic here, not a political one as such, if people have funds to gamble with, one could reasonably expect them to be fed and watered and housed before they do so.

Excpet of course for PGs, which are a social issue across all income brackets.

Perhaps our lachrymose accounts clerk chancellor should avail herself of a basic economic tenet - the law of diminishing retruns.

Or in terms she could understand better, a cow can be milked daily but you can only slaughter it once!

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Wow, led by a swivel-eyed sky-shouting saliva-frothing idealist, someone who makes Corbyn look sane.

Imagine him in charge and the little Swedish Doom Goblin pulling his strings, Melta Iceberg or whatever she's called.

Anyway, back to the topic in hand and the real world, it represents the continuing erosion of pleasures once taken for granted by the working man, a cheap pint, punt on the horses and a warm home.

And as we're on a gambling topic here, not a political one as such, if people have funds to gamble with, one could reasonably expect them to be fed and watered and housed before they do so.

Excpet of course for PGs, which are a social issue across all income brackets.

Well they're part of the same conversation aren't they? Discretionary spend and the amounts of it people have available to them is directly linked to whatever's going on in the wider economy under the purview of the government of the day.

I appreciate this isn't a specific politics thread but in the same way we can't take the eggs out of a prepared omelette, it's hard not to talk about discretionary spend and the lack of it many have, without looking at the wider context around it.

None of this stuff happens in vacuum.

Also, Betfred and their ilk are vultures, deliberately and specifically preying on the weakest and the poorest, I for one would not shed a single tear if they were wiped off the face of the map.

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[dunover]

Well they're part of the same conversation aren't they? Discretionary spend and the amounts of it people have available to them is directly linked to whatever's going on in the wider economy under the purview of the government of the day.

I appreciate this isn't a specific politics thread but in the same way we can't take the eggs out of a prepared omelette, it's hard not to talk about discretionary spend and the lack of it many have, without looking at the wider context around it.

None of this stuff happens in vacuum.

Also, Betfred and their ilk are vultures, deliberately and specifically preying on the weakest and the poorest, I for one would not shed a single tear if they were wiped off the face of the map.

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View attachment 212529

Not disputing the locations you mention, but the same can be said of pubs, nightclubs, fast food outlets and numerous other facets of retail.

These tend to (naturally!) follow their markets, viz-a-viz the working class areas which are their main consumers.

The wax jacket and green wellie brigade tend to be a demographic whose Saturday doesn't consist of going down the bookies, eating a MacDonalds to line their stomachs, consuming 10 pints in Wetherspoons, having a brawl afterwards before buying a greasy kebab then chundering it all up on the pavement before heading home to have another row with the missus. Or do they?

 

[Lemon]

God forbid billionaire Fred Done has to reach into his own pocket to shoulder some of the extra costs associated with increased taxes, or pass some of those costs onto the shareholders. Nah, just start crying and take your ball home with you.

 

[andysbetting1187]

whose Saturday doesn't consist of going down the bookies, eating a MacDonalds to line their stomachs, consuming 10 pints in Wetherspoons, having a brawl afterwards before buying a greasy kebab then chundering it all up on the pavement before heading home to have another row with the missus. Or do they?

Have you been following me around again lol

 

[PMKFRUITPRO]

That's how big business works - scale. Many chains subsidize break-even or loss-making parts with profits from elsewhere to maintain size and presence and aggregate turnover figures.

Look at Bet365, the #1 around much of the world, where the vast majority of profits are made outside the UK and without which you wouldn't have the things UK customers enjoy there.

There's also the competition aspect to consider - shutting the 300 loss-makers would simply hand their custom to rival companies.

Yes I get that ‘some’ probably lose and are covered by others but 300??? I think our Fred is talking bollox.

 

[dunover]

Yes I get that ‘some’ probably lose and are covered by others but 300??? I think our Fred is talking bollox.

I see your point, but 300 is only about 20% of the total shops so in context 80% of them could easily cover the shortfalls and still make the chain a good profit overall. He knows the figures and seems to be saying that while 20% losing is OK, when it gets to say 35% then the profits of the 65% will mean either just breaking even or perhaps insufficient to keep them all going at all.

Many big businesses have low margins and the profits they make which sound big are in fact only due to the sheer volume of sales. Like Tescos our biggest supermarket runs on margins of around 3% so imagine if they were faced with say a 5% sales tax on top? Tescos would become Excos lol

 

[PMKFRUITPRO]

Oh I thought they had 400 odd shops!! That’s why I thought it didn’t sound right at all.

Blimey that many eh??

 

[slot_zombie]

So if this happens, and other bookmakers follow, where is granny going to go to lay her £5 on the national? What's going to happen to the entertaining YT videos of punters smashing FOBTs up?

Unless they repurpose the shops as 'Gaming Centres' with B3s in?

I remember Ladbrokes Coral tried this a few years ago, opening a small "concept" chain of AGCs in closing Coral premises, where the Corals was closing due to having a Ladbrokes nearby.

The small premises in our town centre was duly stuffed with Equinox and Prismatic terminals plus Cat 3 Triple 8's to make up the numbers and a few Reflex low-techs which did see some play from the grannies.

Shortly after opening, the area manager for the nearby Shipleys was seen in there having a nose, and one week later the Shipleys had an identical line up of Reflexes arrive.

Must not have been a success because two years later those AGCs were all closed down. Certainly the one near me never had many customers in, and Shipleys retained its AGC monopoly in the town centre.

As traditional in the UK, the premises remains empty to this day.

 

[dunover]

Oh I thought they had 400 odd shops!! That’s why I thought it didn’t sound right at all.

Blimey that many eh??

Yeah, nearly 1300 so it's actually nearer 25% losing money. I didn't realize before reading the article the other day that there were that many in the UK.

 

[dunover]

At around the same time, Entain also expressed the same concerns:

"Stella David, the chief executive of Entain, the FTSE 100 owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has also said higher gambling taxes could lead to shop closures and investment being diverted to other countries."

 

[gonzo fonso]

i think its more that people have the bookies at home so they not going to use the high street shops,like most things these days they seem to keep people indoors(internet,netflix,gaming consoles,mobile phones,food takeaways etc)

 

[dunover]

i think its more that people have the bookies at home so they not going to use the high street shops,like most things these days they seem to keep people indoors(internet,netflix,gaming consoles,mobile phones,food takeaways etc)

True, which I think is why they have the FOBTs in there, without those they would have all been gone by now. It tends to be the older generation that uses cash in high st. bookies, or money launderers. So like the UK coal mines because of alternative cleaner fuels, I reckon the bookie shops are destined to fade away naturally anyway.