A host of Britain’s best-known bookmakers have warned that jobs will be cut, profits will be hit and investment in the UK reduced as they absorb the hefty extra costs imposed by the chancellor’s online gambling tax raid.
Flutter, the world’s largest online betting company behind brands including Betfair, Paddy Power and Sportsbet, has warned of a multimillion-pound hit to earnings.
In her second budget, Rachel Reeves announced measures to lift remote gaming duty, which applies to online casino games, to 40 per cent from 21 per cent next April in an attempt to tackle a segment of the gambling industry she said was “associated with the highest levels of harm”.
