John Healey warned Budget tax grab could cut over 1,700 jobs and close 252 venues in UK seaside towns

A potential Budget tax rise could force 244 betting shops and eight casinos in Britain’s coastal towns to close, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) warns.

The industry body estimates 1,761 jobs could be lost if machine games duty doubles to 40 per cent.

That would threaten around 40 per cent of the 609 betting shops and eight of the 20 casinos operating in coastal communities.

Chancellor John Healey is understood to be considering the increase ahead of his October 28 Budget, as the Treasury seeks extra revenue amid rising government borrowing costs.

Two of Britain’s largest gambling operators have added their voices to the campaign against the proposed rise.

Stella David, chief executive of Entain, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, 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.”

Ms David described the UK as an “increasingly challenging tax environment” for the company.

Richard Harris, who leads Rank Group, the parent company of Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo, was equally direct.

Mr Harris said: “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.”

He pointed to last year’s Budget, when the Treasury accepted the economic case against raising the duty, and argued that casinos and bingo clubs could support the government’s growth ambitions under the right conditions.

The warning from Entain and Rank follows a joint letter sent to the Chancellor by the bosses of six major betting firms.

Leaders of Entain, Flutter, Bet365, Bally’s Corporation, Evoke and Betfred wrote to Mr Healey cautioning that hundreds of bookmakers could close, with thousands of jobs at risk.

“Further tax increases risk adding to a trend that has already seen thousands of betting shops disappear from British high streets,” the executives said.

The industry is already absorbing a significant tax rise introduced in April, when remote gaming duty on online casino and slots jumped from 21 per cent to 40 per cent following changes announced in last year’s autumn Budget.

In seaside towns, the potential closures threaten more than just jobs. Jack Pugh, a trainee manager at JenningsBet in Christchurch, Dorset, said: “Betting shops are much more than a place to have a bet. For a lot of regulars, we’re part of their daily lives.

“We know nearly everyone by name and plenty of them pop in just for a cuppa, a chat and a bit of football banter.”

Mr Pugh added: “Coastal communities can’t afford another tax raid that puts jobs at risk, forces firms to shut and leaves more empty shops on struggling high streets.”

Grainne Hurst, chief executive of the BGC, said betting shops, bingo clubs and casinos provided vital employment and investment in seaside towns where alternative opportunities were often limited.

Ms Hurst highlighted that betting shops supported more than 36,000 jobs nationally, with one in four employees aged under 25 and more than half under 35. Women account for half the workforce, and over eight in ten shops are located outside London.

“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,” she said.

The BGC estimates that more than 600 betting shops will have closed and over 10,000 jobs will have been lost across the wider industry by the end of this year since the last Budget.

Analysis by accountancy firm EY suggests that doubling machine games duty could put up to 16,000 jobs and almost 1,500 betting shops at risk nationally, while leaving the Treasury £124million worse off.