Entain's CEO, Stella David, has addressed an open letter to the British prime minister to warn of the consequences of raising the standard rate of tax on machine gaming (MGD) to 40%. Published on September 11, the letter calls for the upcoming autumn budgets to take into account the viability of betting establishments and the jobs they support.

According to David, doubling this tax would mean an additional £100 million in annual cost for Entain's face-to-face business in the United Kingdom. The group, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, employs more than 13,000 people in the country, of which more than 12,000 work in approximately 2,300 betting shops.

The executive supports her warning in an EY study commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). According to the estimates contained in the letter, a rate of 40% could cause, in the sector as a whole, up to 1,470 closures of establishments and the loss of 15,900 jobs, in addition to generating a net loss of around 120 million pounds for the British Treasury.

"These are not theoretical efficiencies in a financial model. They are people who lose their jobs and communities who lose long-standing businesses on their commercial streets," David says.

The letter places special emphasis on the profile of the workforce. According to data provided by Entain, half of its workers in the face-to-face business are women, 52% have part-time or flexible schedules and more than one in five – 2,570 people – is under 25 years of age. The company claims to have incorporated 1,920 young people since 2024 and puts the remuneration of its employees with the lowest salaries at £13 per hour.

David argues that the Ladbrokes and Coral stores have an activity focused on sport and racing, within which the machines allow diversifying income between sporting events. In his opinion, this contribution is especially relevant to maintain establishments in small towns and rural areas, where the jobs they generate would be difficult to replace.

The CEO also vindicates the role of staff in protecting customers, through age checks, identifying signs of potentially harmful gambling, direct intervention and supporting self-exclusion mechanisms.

Another of the axes of the letter is the risk of displacement of the activity outside the legal circuit. According to the EY model cited by David, the rise of the MGD to 40% could cause, in the extreme scenario, the exit of some 1,000 million pounds in bets from the regulated land-based market. The directive warns that this contraction could accelerate the migration to illegal operators.

To illustrate this risk, the letter includes an estimate by Frontier Economics that puts bets made through illegal land-based gambling at £1.6 billion per year. It also cites calculations by the Office for Budget Responsibility according to which changes in behaviour would reduce by approximately a third the expected revenue from the tax measures on gambling announced in the 2025 budget.

The impact, David adds, would reach other activities. Entain's face-to-face network contributes approximately £50 million annually to British equestrianism, according to the company. The group also owns three greyhound racing venues and warns that a reduction in its network would affect employment, sponsorships and commercial support for both disciplines.

"We are not asking to be left out of taxation," says the CEO, who recalls that Entain is, according to the letter, among the twenty largest taxpayers in the country.

David frames his request in the accumulation of tax burdens facing the sector. The letter notes that the tax on remote gambling went from 21% to 40% in April 2026 and that a new rate of 25% on most remote betting will come into force in April 2027. A further doubling of the tax on machines would, he argues, add pressure on the ability to maintain premises, employment and investment.

Entain's top executive concludes by offering the prime minister the chance to meet the professionals who run its establishments and review the company's analyses before making a decision in the autumn budget.