Betfred turnover nears £1bn as online closes gap on shops

Betfred has reported turnover of £995.6 million for the year ended 29 March 2026. Online operations are now moving closer to matching its betting shops.

Retail accounted for 55% of group turnover. This is down from 61% in the previous reporting period. Online contributed 45%. What was once a business traditionally associated with the high street is changing.

Betfred, like many similar companies, is facing higher employment costs and significant changes to UK gambling taxation.

Turnover grows on a comparable basis

The headline turnover figure was below the £1.5 billion reported previously. It’s important to note that the accounting periods differ substantially.

The latest accounts cover 52 weeks. There were 78 weeks in the preceding period. The difference is because  Betfred had decided to move its financial year-end from September to March.

On a comparable 12-month basis, turnover increased by £23.3 million. Betfred linked part of that growth to increased marketing spending aimed at attracting customers and expanding market share.

The narrower retail-online split does not, by itself, establish that shop turnover declined. It shows that retail represented a smaller proportion of the group’s overall business.

Profits include failed acquisition costs

Gross profit reached £719.9 million. Operating profit was £74.1 million. EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was £140.6 million.

Operating profit included a £4.6 million charge relating to an acquisition that did not proceed. Total exceptional charges reached £7.1 million, including £801,000 associated with closing a subsidiary connected to Betfred’s former US operations.

The group also confirmed that selling its Spanish online business in 2024 generated a £1.6 million profit.

Employment costs increased by £19.2 million on a comparable basis, reflecting minimum wage increases despite a reduction in employee numbers from 7,872 to 7,795.

Tax increases create further pressure

The reporting period ended before Remote Gaming Duty increased from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026. A new 25% duty rate on most remote betting is due from April 2027, with UK horseracing bets excluded from that increase.

These results do not show a full year of trading under the higher remote gaming rate. Online’s larger contribution also makes the tax treatment of its different products increasingly relevant to future profitability.

Betfred has separately considered closing up to 132 UK shops. Founder Fred Done has warned that a hypothetical doubling of Machine Games Duty could force 495 closures within a year. This would affect 2,575 jobs.

Those figures describe a conditional scenario, rather than an announced closure programme. Nevertheless, the accounts underline the competing pressures facing Betfred: maintaining its substantial retail business while pursuing online growth in a more expensive tax environment.