The chairman of a British betting giant has warned the company could be forced to close all its high street shops if Rachel Reeves goes ahead with proposed tax hikes in the Autumn Budget.

Betfred co-founder and chairman Fred Done labelled the Chancellor’s plans as the “biggest threat” to the gambling industry in nearly 60 years.

Ms Reeves told ITV recently that she believes “there is a case” for gambling companies “to pay their fair share of taxes”, pledging the Government “will make sure that happens”.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) previously predicted that tax hikes by up to 50 per cent on betting firms could help Rachel Reeves raise up to £3.2billion to help plug a £50billion hole in public finances.

The Betting and Gaming Council warned that such a move could push British gamblers into the black market, branding the proposal as “economically reckless”.

Mr Done told the BBC: “It [tax] doesn’t even need to go up to 50 per cent. If it went up to anywhere like 40 per cent or even 35 per cent there is no profit in the business.

“We would have to close it down. I’m talking job losses. We’re talking probably 7,500.”

The Betfred co-founder warned that 300 locations are “currently losing money”, and warned that this figure could jump to 430 if even a 5 per cent tax increase was slapped on the industry.

He added: “Once the [UK] industry is closed down, it’s gone. People will still bet, but they’ll bet offshore with it.

“There’s plenty of bookmakers offshore who happen to take the bets, who don’t pay anything to this country.”

Other gambling companies have joined Betfred in opposing the Chancellor’s tax plans, with William Hill warning that up to 200 of its shops could be forced to close.

It comes as Paddy Power announced on Thursday it would be closing 57 shops in the UK and Ireland due to rising costs.

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Mr Done warned that even without the proposed tax increases, Betfred has “got probably 20 years of life” left on British high streets.

He added: “And you know, the UK High Street is being decimated with closures.”

IPPR director of research and policy Professor Ashwin Kumar argued that the gambling industry should be hit with tax hikes to reflect the harm betting has on some Britons.

He told the BBC: “We know that most of the profits made by gambling companies come from a very small number of gamblers, many of whom are at risk of serious harm.”

Prof Kumar added that the gambling industry should be treated like other sectors that can cause harm, such as “tobacco and alcohol.”

Betfred raked in almost £1billion of revenue in the most recently published yearly results, but only £500,000 in operating profits.

The gambling firm has bases in the UK, US, South Africa and Gibraltar.

A Treasury spokesman said: “We do not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.”

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