The billionaire Done family, owners of the Betfred gambling empire, received a £30m dividend before issuing a warning that they would close hundreds of bookmakers and cut jobs if the government increases tax on high-street slot machines.
Chancellor John Healey is reportedly considering proposals to double machine games duty in the upcoming budget. The Social Market Foundation thinktank has suggested this move could increase state revenue by up to £460m.
On Wednesday, Betfred boss Fred Done was among industry figures who signed a letter to Healey, stating that such a policy could lead to up to 1,470 betting shop closures, 34 casino closures, and 15,900 job losses. This plea coincided with the filing of Betfred’s holding company accounts at Companies House.
The accounts show that the Warrington-based betting firm generated £996m from British punters in the year to the end of March 2026, recording a pre-tax profit of £64m. This performance enabled Betfred to pay an interim dividend of £30m to its shareholders, primarily trusts benefiting the Done family, bringing total shareholder payouts to over £105m since 2022.
The Done family, estimated to be worth around £3bn, were identified as the UK’s largest taxpayers by the Sunday Times Tax List. Of the £400m they are estimated to have contributed in taxes last year, £54m came from machine games duty, according to Betfred Group Holdings Limited accounts.