Fred Done, the founder of the Betfred gambling group and Britain's biggest taxpayer, has said he is 'too old' to join the ranks of billionaires leaving the country, but would 'not wish to be reborn' in the UK.
The 83-year-old launched a scathing attack on the tax burden placed on the wealthy and the gambling industry in an interview with the Financial Times. 'They keep saying those with the broadest shoulders should be paying more tax. Well, how broad do my shoulders have to be? We paid £400 million in taxes as a family last year,' Done said.
Done said there were now better opportunities for his family elsewhere, and issued a stark warning about the future of the betting industry. He predicted that further tax increases would force Betfred to close almost half of its 1,094 shops within a year, and claimed that all bookmakers would be 'dead' by 2030. Betfred said it paid £210 million in UK taxes in the year to March.
The comments come as the government weighs possible increases to gambling duties in the October Budget, with reports that the Chancellor is considering raising machine gaming duty, the taxes levied on slot machines. Fixed-odds betting terminals, on which the maximum stake was cut to £2 in 2019, accounted for half of Betfred's shop profits. 'Without them, there is no retail industry, it's impossible,' Done said.
Done's remarks land amid a broader exodus of the super-rich from Britain. Hedge fund manager Chris Rokos, the country's third-biggest taxpayer, is moving his residency to Greece, while steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris have also left following the abolition of the non-dom tax regime. Over the weekend it also emerged that property tycoon David Reuben, whose family is worth around £28 billion, has relocated to Monaco.
An analysis of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index found that super-rich UK residents worth a total of £121 billion have left the country since 2024, more than half of all billionaire wealth in the country. Of the 350 individuals and families on the 2024 Rich List, 60 disappeared from the 2026 rankings, largely because of overseas relocations.
Done also pushed back against criticism of betting shops on high streets, warning that closures would simply push punters towards the black market with no tax revenue. Andy Burnham has spoken of his desire to revive high streets that he said had been 'hollowed out' by 'vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators'. The row underscores the deepening tension between Labour's tax agenda and the wealth creators it once courted.