William Hill has closed more than a fifth of its betting shops in the past year with the loss of hundreds of jobs as it is battered by Labour’s tax raid on the gambling industry.

Owner Evoke said the number of William Hill sites fell by 278 or 21.4 per cent to 1,024 in the 12 months to the end of June – with around 200 of the closures coming in May.

That followed Rachel Reeves’ last Budget as Chancellor when she raised remote gaming duty from 21 per cent to 40 per cent and announced a hike in the levy on online sports betting from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.

The tax raid plunged Evoke deeper into crisis – leading to the closure of more betting shops and its proposed £243million takeover by Greek gambling firm Bally’s Intralot.

Evoke on Wednesday revealed it shelled out an extra £46million in gaming duties in the first half of 2026 – mostly as a result of Labour’s tax raid – as it posted losses of £80million for the period.

It came just days after figures from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) showed more than 540 betting shops have closed with the loss of 4,500 jobs since the Budget.

Andy Burnham sparked further anger this week when he lumped ‘betting shops’ in with vape shops and ‘dodgy businesses linked to organised crime’ as he outlined his plans to save Britain’s ‘hollowed out’ High Streets.

In comments to the Mail following Evoke’s update, shadow culture minister Louis French said: ‘The Labour Government was warned by industry and the Conservatives that their tax raid would close high street shops, cost thousands of jobs, further fuel the illegal gambling market and ultimately reduce tax revenue and sponsorship of UK sports.

‘They refused to listen and now Andy Burnham has disgracefully suggested that betting and betting shops, which millions enjoy safely each monthly, are dodgy.

‘Labour’s morality police are wrong to think that people will stop gambling. It will only fuel the illegal market, which is a lose, lose result for consumers, sports and Government.’

BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst said: ‘Today’s news is yet more evidence of the real-world consequences of the previous Chancellor’s tax raid on Britain’s betting and gaming industry.

‘Betting shops are an important part of Britain’s hard-pressed high streets, supporting tens of thousands of jobs, bringing vital footfall to other local businesses.

‘Now more shops are set to disappear, taking jobs, investment and tax revenues with them. These are real businesses and real livelihoods paying the price for decisions made in Westminster.

‘The Government cannot tax an industry into decline and expect to raise more money. Fewer shops and fewer jobs mean a smaller tax base, less money for British sport and horse racing, and a weaker regulated sector.

‘Ministers should be backing jobs, high streets and British sport, not pursuing policies that make it harder for regulated businesses to survive.’

Evoke said it has taken 'decisive' action to mitigate the impact of gambling taxes, and had offset 'over half' of the cost increases through lower marketing spend and continued cost-cutting. 

In the first half, revenue was flat at £887.5million, or up 2 per cent excluding the shops closed since the prior-year period.

Retail revenue in Britain and Ireland fell by 2.6 per cent to £245.6million as a result of store closures, with like-for-like revenue increasing by 4 per cent. Betting revenue declined by 3 per cent, while online revenue rose 4 per cent. 

William Hill helped to drive a 7 per cent increase in gaming revenues, while the 888 brand slipped. 

Evoke's international business struggled as an increase in Romanian gaming duties, paired with a recession, failed to offset 21 per cent growth in Italy and 13 per cent in Denmark. 

The firm's reported loss after tax was £70.2million, broadly unchanged. 

Per Widerström, chief executive of Evoke, said: 'The first half demonstrated the resilience of the business in a significantly more challenging operating environment following substantial increases in gaming duties introduced across some of our core markets, most notably in the UK.'

Intralot's deal to acquire Evoke is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027. 

Mark Crouch, an analyst at Etoro, said: 'Evoke’s numbers underline why getting the Bally’s Intralot deal over the line is becoming increasingly important. 

'Revenue has held firm despite a much smaller retail estate, William Hill continues to perform well, and management has offset more than half of a punishing £46million increase in gaming duties through cost and marketing efficiencies.

'But time is hardly on Evoke’s side. Net debt is approaching £1.9billion, leverage has climbed to 5.6 times, and higher gaming taxes are making an already difficult turnaround considerably tougher.'