BGC warns unfair business rates are driving Britain’s high street decline

The Betting and Gaming Council has warned that the Government’s unfair business rates system is accelerating the loss of businesses from Britain’s high streets, including betting shops, undermining local jobs, investment and local authority revenues.

This comes at a time when debate about the future of Britain’s high streets and business rates policy is intensifying at the highest levels of government, after ministers signalled a U-turn on planned business rates hikes for pubs in recognition of the pressures facing bricks-and-mortar businesses.

Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “Britain’s high streets are already under intense pressure, and an outdated and unfair business rates system is only accelerating their decline. Betting shops are closing not because communities don’t value them, but because the costs of running physical premises continue to rise.

“Ministers were right to recognise these pressures when it comes to pubs, and the same common-sense approach must now be applied across the high street. Without urgent reform, we risk losing thousands more local jobs, investment and vital footfall, while handing a growing advantage to the harmful gambling black market.”

Betting shops are already disappearing from Britain’s high streets, with official figures showing a 30 per cent fall in numbers since 2019. Nationally, betting shop numbers have declined from 8,304 in 2019 to 5,825 by March 2025, resulting in over 10,000 job losses and reduced business rate income for local councils.

Further closures are expected as recent gambling tax rises place additional pressure on operators that run both online and retail businesses. Although betting shops themselves did not face a direct tax increase, many operators work from a single balance sheet, meaning higher online gambling taxes will inevitably impact retail estates, affecting investment, staffing and shop viability.

Retail, hospitality and leisure firms have long argued that the current system places an unsustainable burden on physical premises such as pubs, shops and cafés, undermining footfall and weakening town centre economies.

Despite these challenges, betting shops continue to play an important role on hard-pressed high streets, supporting around 42,000 jobs, contributing nearly £1 billion a year in direct tax, and generating £60 million annually in business rates. Research by ESA Retail also found that 89 per cent of betting shop customers visit other nearby businesses, supporting wider high street footfall and local economic activity.

Licensed betting shops are among the most tightly regulated retail environments in the country, with strict rules on age verification, staffing and safer gambling. NHS surveys consistently show problem gambling rates at around 0.4 per cent of the adult population.

Further tax rises risk accelerating shop closures, undermining high street regeneration efforts and pushing customers towards the harmful illegal gambling black market, where there are no safeguards, no consumer protections and no contribution to the Treasury, sport or treatment.

The BGC is calling for an evidence-led, proportionate approach that supports high-street regeneration, ensures fairness across sectors and avoids policies that will only reward harmful illegal operators.