Leading independent bookmaker warns 'there will be nothing left to tax' if gambling duties are hiked in autumn budget

There will be nothing left to tax if gambling duties are hiked in the budget as they will cause betting shops to disappear from the high street, a leading independent bookmaker has warned.

David Pluck, the founder and owner of the eponymous chain of bookmakers, said that betting shops were already reeling from increases in last year’s budget to employer National Insurance contributions, and that margins were also being squeezed by other factors such as increased energy costs.

Having started out with one betting office in Widnes in 1980, Pluck, 75, has built his company to 36 shops, all based in the north-west of England, and employs 125 members of staff.

He said: “We had the hit from the previous budget last year with National Insurance going up, which added three per cent to our wage bill. The number of betting shops on the high street is already down a third in the last ten years and it’s an industry that’s in decline – and that’s before you start talking about taxing it more.

“There won’t be any betting shops left very soon if the biggest tax increases being talked about come in; there will be nothing left to tax. 

"I’ve greatly enjoyed working in this industry but, with this budget coming up, I just don’t know what the future holds for all of us.”

Rachel Reeves: chancellor of the exchequerCredit: Getty Images

A report in the Daily Telegraph this week suggested that general betting duty, the rate bookmakers pay on sports such as horseracing, would not increase in the budget on November 26, but that remote gaming duty, which is paid on online casino-style games, and machine games duty, which is paid on in-shop betting units, were in line to go up as part of plans to raise £1 billion in extra tax from the gambling sector.

Pluck said: “If, for example, the duty on machines went up from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, that isn't a five per cent increase we'd be having to deal with, it’s a 33 per cent increase, which is a massive amount for an industry working on slim margins.

“I’ve read about the bigger corporates looking to close shops, and I feel sorry for the staff in these places. Some of the bookmakers they have been working in are going to close and this must be extremely worrying times for them if they're wondering whether they're going to be left without jobs.”

Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves used a speech on Tuesday to say she would make “necessary choices” when the budget was revealed this month, and that “we will all have to contribute to that effort”.

• Racing faces ‘stealth tax’ if chancellor hits betting shops in budget, bookmakers warn 

Reeves went on to appear at Treasury questions in the House of Commons, where Sally Jameson, Labour MP for Doncaster Central, asked about what assessment had been made on the "potential impact of implementing a flat rate of remote betting and gaming duty on the horseracing industry”.

In response, Dan Tomlinson MP, the exchequer secretary, said he would meet the BHA for further discussion on the topic. 

He added: “I recognise the social and cultural value of horseracing, which is why we're listening to the horseracing sector as we consider our response to the consultation.”

Jack Rankin, Conservative MP for Windsor, said the government should “heed warnings from across this house and, more importantly, from the industry” on the potential impact of tax changes and that “racing, rightly, should be treated very differently to online casinos and gaming”, which prompted a call of “axe the racing tax” from a member inside the chamber.

Read these next:

New report warns betting tax increase will cause huge damage to racing and force punters on to black market 

Committee fails to get to grips with the nitty-gritty of gambling tax - but events may have overtaken it anyway 

MPs warned customers would be lured to black market if chancellor opts to increase gambling taxes in next month's budget 

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