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What is Horror Hotel?
He described online gambling and betting as a “social scourge“. Some people, he said, “after repeated losses and financial difficulties, have been driven to despair, sometimes to the point of contemplating suicide”.
The committee considered the bill once, on 3 February, and has since taken no further action.
Meanwhile the government has been approaching the issue via a new bill. Sports minister Sadok Mourali said in November 2024 that a gambling and sports betting bill had been circulated for consultation. Twenty-six public institutions received that consultation, including the central bank, Competition Council and financial intelligence authority.
What is Horror Hotel?
In an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, Done cautioned that additional tax hikes could result in widespread betting shop closures, harm related sectors such as horse racing and accelerate the decline of the high street.
Betfred currently operates approximately 1,094 retail shops across the UK. Done highlighted the concrete risks of Machine Gaming Duty – taxes on gambling machines – doubling from 20% to 40%, a move reportedly under consideration by Chancellor John Healey ahead of the Autumn Budget.
Betfred’s retail business still heavily depends on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and in-shop gambling. Despite the maximum stake limit being cut to £2 in 2019, FOBTs account for roughly half of Betfred’s shop profits. Done emphasised that without these machines, retail betting wass “impossible”.
What is Horror Hotel?
This followed a period of restrategising for the operator, after rebranding from GVC Holdings and committing to having 100% of its revenues come from regulated markets.
But its share price has taken a tumble over the last year, dropping up to 37% since September 2025. Its market cap currently sits at £3.39 billion.
The operator first started trading on LSEG’s main market in February 2016 under its previous company name GVC Holdings. This followed its delisting from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM exchange).
