Paddy Power is closing 57 betting shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Rising costs and changing customer behaviour mean that the company can no longer keep the shops profitable.
A total of 247 employees may lose their jobs. Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power, says it is looking at internal redeployment of staff.
A spokesperson states that physical locations remain important, but that the company must adapt to economic pressures.
Betfred threatens to close all physical betting shops
Betfred founder Fred Done is sounding the alarm. He says that an increase in gambling tax to 35% or 40% would spell the end for the entire retail branch.
According to Done, 300 shops are already operating at a loss. He believes that a tax increase would make hundreds more branches unviable.
Betfred currently has over 1,200 branches and 7,500 employees. The company sees rising labour costs and online competition as additional problems.
William Hill considers closing 200 branches
William Hill, part of Evoke, is also looking at drastic measures. The company is considering closing up to 200 betting shops in the United Kingdom.
Evoke is struggling with a high debt of £1.8 billion. The reorganisation could lead to 1,500 redundancies.
The plans are linked to the expected budget of Minister Rachel Reeves. She wants to impose heavier taxes on gambling companies.
Blow after blow for gambling companies in the United Kingdom
The British gambling market is under severe pressure. In addition to closures, operators are also facing digital problems. For example, Betfair recently lost sensitive customer data in an incident.Paddy Power also received negative publicity recently after a dispute over an unpaid jackpot, which further put pressure on customer satisfaction.