Bookies fear budget hit but gaming machine self-harm killed off the old-fashioned shops

The article examines fears that an increase in Machine Games Duty could close many high-street betting shops and reduce the money flowing to British horse racing. It argues that racing’s reliance on shops leaves it exposed, while questioning whether the shops’ decline is really caused by tax when gaming machines have changed their role.

A thinktank proposed doubling the duty on gaming-machine profits from 20% to 40%, citing their greater harms; industry figures warned this could close up to 4,000 of the UK’s 5,500 shops and cost racing £92m a year. More recent speculation points to a smaller rise, from 20% to 25%, which the industry says could still mean hundreds of closures and tens of millions in lost racing income. Shops have already fallen from about 9,000 a decade ago, amid the wider shift to online gambling; racing receives around £27,000 in media rights and Levy payments from an average shop.