JenningsBet boss warns Budget tax rise could gut retail betting

Greg Knight, owner and chief executive of JenningsBet, has used an opinion piece for EGR to argue that any further tax rise on land-based betting in the coming Autumn Budget would put jobs and shops at risk rather than bring in more money for the Treasury.

His intervention follows a July report from the think tank the Social Market Foundation, which proposed doubling machine games duty on land-based venues to 40%. Knight told EGR the SMF has downplayed what such a move would do to an already shrinking retail sector, pointing out that betting shop numbers have fallen by a third over the past seven years, with 400 closures in 2026 alone.

He noted that last year's Budget, delivered by then Chancellor Rachel Reeves, left land-based gambling duties untouched even as online gambling taxes rose sharply, after the Treasury accepted evidence that higher levies on shops and bingo halls would cost jobs and ultimately shrink tax receipts. Knight said he sees no reason that evidence has changed.

JenningsBet, according to Knight, is a fourth-generation family firm rather than an offshore operator, employing close to 900 staff across more than 200 branches, up from ten shops in 1995. He said the company's payroll reached £23m last year and its tax contribution, covering employer's National Insurance, general betting duty and machine games duty, topped £20m.

Knight argued that betting shops support the horseracing industry through the Levy, media rights and sponsorship, and that many MPs across parties recognise their social role, citing an annual charity bet on the Grand National that JenningsBet organises for constituency MPs.

He suggested the SMF may feel it has a better chance of success with the current government, pointing to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's remarks linking betting shops to vape shops and other what he called 'dodgy businesses'. Knight said his concern is that the October Budget could be used to tax land-based gambling venues off the high street altogether, a move he described as a mistake that would simply push customers towards unregulated, untaxed alternatives.

Knight argued that betting shops are not the real source of growth on the high street, since their numbers have already fallen sharply, while adult gaming centres have become more visible. He said government already holds the tool needed to address that: scrapping the 'aim to permit' provision in the Gambling Act 2005, which currently limits councils' ability to refuse well-made licence applications, with refusals often overturned on appeal. Removing that provision, he said, would let local authorities control new venues directly, alongside their existing powers to review licences, set trading conditions and close premises where justified.

Knight, who sits on the Betting and Gaming Council's executive committee and serves on the board of the British Greyhound Racing Fund, said JenningsBet's future investment and staffing depend on whether the Budget is built around growth and jobs or shaped by what he called a think tank with an apparent agenda against the industry.