Betfred Turnover Just Misses £1bn Mark; Retail Still Ahead Of Online

Betfred’s turnover fell just short of £1 billion according to the latest financial accounts filed with Companies House. The UK bookmaker’s annual report, which covered the 52 weeks up to 29 March 2026, indicated turnover dropped from £1.458 billion for Financial Year 2024/25 (FY24/25).

Interestingly, the results were posted before the UK experienced a drastic change to the gambling landscape. In April, remote gaming duty (RGD) paid on online casino bets was nearly doubled from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY), while in April 2027, general betting duty paid on online sports bets will climb from 15% to 25%, with horseracing exempt.

Headline figures not comparable

What was striking about the latest financial accounts was that the flagged 25/26 financial period was much shorter than 24/25, which covered 78 weeks.

Betfred, which shifted the year-end date from September to March, suggested that making direct comparisons between the two was much harder. Perhaps the tail-off in performance suggests the company isn’t as financially stable as it was in the past.

That said, Betfred coughed up its fair share of taxes. During the said financial period, Betfred paid £147.4 million in betting duty and approximately £54.5 million in Machine Games Duty (MGD) which the government is considering raising to 40% in the Autumn Budget later this month.

Retail remains a key driver

In breaking down the turnover figure, retail betting remains a key cog for Betfred. Yes, retail gambling turnover reached £544 million, while online turnover was £452 million.

Retail operations accounted for 55% of the total turnover for the 12-month period, while online comprised 45% of group turnover. Indeed, retail remains ahead of online, but marketing expenses rose as Betfred sought to get more punters through the doors.

More perturbingly, Betfred has been culling its retail estate. As of 29 March 2026, Betfred had 1,293 licensed betting shops, down from 1,351 a year earlier. This predated further shop closures, as Betfred revealed in July it was shutting 132 venues due to the increased gambling taxes, while Flutter and Entain have also taken measures to mitigate the impact.

More costs on the way

Over the past year. Betfred’s outgoings have been substantial. Employee costs, according to the latest financial results, jumped by £19.2 million on a like-for-like 12-month basis, even though the staff headcount decreased from 9,622 to 9,463.

This, the directors suggested, was down to an increase in the national minimum wage and employers’ national insurance. On top of that, £7.1 million of exceptional costs were recorded, including £4.6 million for aborted acquisitions.

Further challenges ahead

Betfred co-founder Fred Done has been vocal in lambasting the potential impact arising from an MGD hike, decrying it as a “raid by the morality police”. Modelling carried out suggested that a jump in the MGD could result in a further 495 shop closures for Betfred, and as many as 2,475 jobs scrapped.

The shifting economic landscape has heaped pressure on Betfred having recently pulled the plug on its long-running sponsorship of Rugby League’s premier competition, the Super League. Done previously intimated that the company could also walk away from the sponsorship of British Classics if things went against them with the MGD announcement.

Next year marks Betfred’s 60th anniversary after Done established the company in 1967. But with further challenges ahead, it remains to be seen whether Betfred’s retail presence will continue to dwindle.