BHA warns Budget betting tax rise could close hundreds of UK betting shops

Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, warned of a clear risk that hundreds, if not thousands, of the UK's roughly 5,500 betting shops could close. The machine games duty, a tax on betting shop machine profits, rises to 25% in April 2027. Independent modelling shared with the Treasury estimates racing could lose £57m a year.