Budget tax raid on gambling will trigger jobs bloodbath, warn owners of Ladbrokes and Mecca bingo

A fresh tax raid on gambling will lead to closures and job losses, two of Britain's biggest operators have warned.

In a last ditch plea ahead of the Budget, Ladbrokes owner Entain and Mecca Bingo parent firm Rank Group urged the Chancellor to rethink plans to increase taxes on the sector.

The comments came after the bosses of six major betting companies wrote to John Healey to warn hundreds of bookies could close - costing thousands of jobs.

'Further tax increases risk adding to a trend that has already seen thousands of betting shops disappear from British high streets,' said the bosses of Entain, Flutter, Bet365, Bally's Corporation, Evoke and Betfred.

Reiterating the warning today, Entain, which also owns Coral, said the UK has become an 'increasingly challenging tax environment'.

Stella David, chief executive of the company, said: 'Both online and retail are important parts of our business and valued contributors to tax revenues and local communities.

'We strongly urge the UK Government to carefully consider any further gambling tax increases which would threaten the viability of many shops, jobs and livelihoods.'

The Government is understood to be considering an increase in the rate of machine games duty, which is the tax on fruit machines, roulette machines and other slot machines, at the Budget later this month.

It comes after remote gaming duty, the tax on online casino and slots, was increased from 21 per cent to 40 per cent in April this year, following changes announced at last year’s autumn Budget.

Rank Group, which runs Grosvenor Casinos as well as its bingo halls, also warned that duty increases would lead to venue closures.

Richard Harris, chief executive of Rank, said: 'Speculation regarding the upcoming Budget continues to weigh heavily on investor sentiment, but our message has been clear: any increase to machine games duty will increase costs, reduce venue viability, lead to venue closures and job losses, reduce tax receipts and halt investment.

'HM Treasury recognised these economic arguments last year and, with the right conditions, we believe our casinos and bingo clubs can play an important role in the Government’s growth agenda.'

The Chancellor is considering doubling machine games duty – the tax levied on slot machines – to 40 per cent in the Budget on October 28.

It comes after Andy Burnham lumped betting shops in with vape shops and ‘dodgy businesses linked to organised crime’ as he outlined plans to save Britain’s ‘hollowed out’ high streets.

The target of his crackdown is thought to be so-called adult gaming centres (AGCs) – slot machine venues that are often open 24 hours a day and would be hammered by an increase in tax.

But industry bosses warn that venues from bingo halls and casinos to bookmakers will also be hit – putting 16,000 jobs and 1,500 betting shops at risk.

Figures from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) show betting shops support more than 36,000 jobs – with one in four employees under 25 and more than half, or 54 per cent, under 35.

Women make up half the workforce and more than eight in ten betting shops are outside London with 27 per cent in the North of England. This rises to almost 40 per cent when Scotland is included.

‘These are good, secure jobs in market towns, former industrial communities and seaside towns, many of them across the North, where opportunities can be harder to find,’ said BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst.

‘For many, it is their first job, their first pay packet and their first opportunity to build a career. Half the workforce are women, many balancing work with childcare and caring responsibilities. These are exactly the jobs this country needs more of, not fewer.’

By the end of this year, more than 600 betting shops will have closed and more than 10,000 jobs lost across the wider industry since the last Budget, according to BGC.

Accountancy giant EY estimates that raising machine games duty to 40 per cent would cost up to 16,000 more jobs, put almost 1,500 betting shops and 34 casinos at risk – and leave the Treasury £124million worse off.