贝特弗雷德的创始人弗雷德·多恩此前曾公开反对其家族所缴纳的税款。
Fred Done, the founder of Betfred, has previously spoken out against the tax his family pays.
在发出警告称政府若提高街边老虎机相关税项，自己将不得不关闭数百家投注站并裁员之前，这位亿万富翁所属的多恩家族已从贝特弗雷德这家博彩企业中提取了3000万英镑作为分红。据悉，财政大臣约翰·希利正在考虑在即将发布的预算案中将老虎机相关税项提高一倍；社会市场基金会这一智库指出，此举有望为政府增加多达4.6亿英镑的财政收入。
Images Money was withdrawn from gambling firm before founder warned chancellor against doubling machine games duty The billionaire Done family took a £30m dividend from their Betfred gambling empire, before warning that they would close hundreds of bookies and cut jobs if the government increases tax on high-street slot machines The chancellor, John Healey is understood to be considering proposals to double machine games duty in the upcoming budget, a move that the Social Market Foundation thinktank has said could boost state coffers by up to £460m.
以贝特弗雷德掌门人弗雷德·多恩为首的业界人士认为，这一举措将导致大量投注站及赌场被迫关门。
Industry figures, led by the Betfred boss, Fred Done, argue that such a move would result in the closure of vast swathes of the bookmaking and casino sector.
本周三，多恩与其他业界代表共同签署了一封致希利的紧急信件，警告称该政策可能引发多达1470家投注站、34家赌场关门，并导致15900人失业。据天空新闻率先报道，这封信件是在贝特弗雷德的控股公司向英国公司注册局提交财报之际发布的。
On Wednesday, Done was among industry signatories who signed a last-ditch letter to Healey, warning that the policy could trigger up to 1,470 betting shop closures, 34 casino closures and 15,900 job losses. The plea, first reported by Sky News, came as Betfred’s holding company filed its accounts at Companies House.
财报显示，截至2026年3月底的财年中，这家总部位于沃灵顿的博彩企业从英国赌客手中赚取了9.96亿英镑，实现税前利润6400万英镑。业绩的亮眼表现使得贝特弗雷德得以向股东——主要是为多恩家族谋利的多个信托基金——派发3000万英镑的中期分红；自2022年以来，该公司累计向股东派发的分红总额已超1.05亿英镑。
The Warrington-based betting firm won a record £996m from British punters in the year to the end of March 2026, the accounts show, booking a pre-tax profit of £64m. The strong performance allowed Betfred to pay its shareholders – mainly a series of trusts benefiting the Done family – an interim dividend of £30m, taking the value of shareholder payouts to more than £105m since 2022.
据悉，这些资金随后被重新投入多恩家族旗下的其他业务，包括其日益壮大的房地产产业。
The money is understood to have been reinvested into other Done family businesses, including their burgeoning property empire.
去年，这位1967年创办第一家投注站、后来成为英国最富有的人之一的弗雷德·多恩曾感慨道，自己“宁愿不在英国重生”。
Last month, Fred Done, who founded his first bookies in 1967 and went on to become one of Britain’s richest men, lamented that he “would not wish to be reborn” in the UK.
“人们总是说肩担重任的人应该缴纳更多税款，”他向《金融时报》说道，“可我的肩膀到底要有多宽才行呢？去年我们全家缴纳的税款就高达4亿英镑。”据《星期日泰晤士报》的纳税排行榜显示，总资产约30亿英镑的多恩家族依然是英国纳税额最高的家庭。
“They keep saying those with the broadest shoulders should be paying more tax,” he told the Financial Times. “Well, how broad do my shoulders have to be? We paid £400m in taxes as a family last year.”The Done family, who are collectively worth around £3bn, remain the UK’s biggest taxpayers, according to the Sunday Times Tax List.
根据贝特弗雷德集团控股有限公司的财报，去年该家族缴纳的4亿英镑税款中，有5400万英镑来自博彩税。
Of the £400m they are estimated to have contributed last year, £54m came from machine games duty (MGD), according to the accounts for Betfred Group Holdings Limited.
理论上而言，如果希利按计划将税率从20%提高至40%，这笔税款数额还将翻倍。
In theory, that sum would double if Healey follows through with plans to increase the duty rate from 20% to 40%.
不过多恩指出，税率如此大幅上调会直接导致数百家博彩公司陷入亏损，迫使他们不得不关门停业，最终反而会减少财政部的税收收入。多家赌场也发出了可能大规模关门的警告。
However, Done has said such an increase would render hundreds of bookmakers unprofitable at a stroke, forcing him to close them and ultimately reducing the Treasury’s tax take. Casinos have also warned of mass closures.
这并非多恩首次因政府政策而威胁要大规模关店。自2019年以来，该公司就曾多次以增税或监管趋严为由威胁要关闭近1000家门店，其中包括因固定赔率投注机单笔投注上限设为2英镑的政策而引发的关店威胁。
It is not the first time that Done has threatened mass closures in response to government policy. Since 2019, the company has threatened to close nearly 1,000 in response to higher taxes or tougher regulation, including the introduction of a £2 cap on fixed-odds betting terminals.
在此期间，该公司的博彩门店数量从约1620家缩减至1293家，减少了近330家。这一趋势与博彩行业向线上转型的大趋势相吻合，弗雷德·多恩也多次出现在电视广告中，呼吁顾客访问betfred.com网站进行投注。
Over that time, the company’s bookmaking estate has shrunk from about 1,620 to 1,293, a decrease of nearly 330. The decline has coincided with a broader shift towards online gambling, with Fred Done appearing in TV adverts urging customers to visit betfred.com.
支持提高博彩税的人士则较少将矛头指向博彩公司，而是更多针对那些被称为“成人娱乐中心”的街边老虎机场所——这类场所大多24小时营业。
Campaigners supporting an increase in MGD have focused less on bookies and more on high-street slot machine venues known as adult gaming centres (AGCs), most of which are open 24 hours.
随着街边博彩场所数量持续减少，这些成人娱乐中心却因规划与许可法规相对宽松而蓬勃发展，尤其是那些位于贫困地区的门店。安迪·伯纳姆便是成人娱乐中心的强烈反对者。今年8月，首相宣布了多项措施，旨在帮助地方政府更轻松地阻止此类新场所的开业。
Amid a broader decline in high-street gambling, with the number of bookies steadily shrinking, AGCs have thrived thanks to lax planning and licensing laws targeting deprived areas in particular for new shop openings Andy Burnham has been a vocal critic of AGCs. In August, the prime minister announced measures designed to make it easier for councils to block new venues.
不过，一些博彩行业人士警告称，由于运营成本低于传统赌场和博彩公司，自动投币式游戏机中心最有可能在博彩税上调的形势下存活下来。
However, some gambling industry figures have warned that AGCs are best-placed to survive a rise in MGD because they have lower overheads than casinos and bookies.
从理论上讲，这意味着税率提高甚至可能对整个行业有利，因为其他游戏机运营商将不得不缩减业务规模。作为英国第二大自动投币式游戏机中心运营商，Merkur公司今年早些时候已竞购Betfred挂牌出售的132家门店中的部分店铺。Done家族则拒绝置评。
In theory, this means that a rise in the duty could even benefit the sector as rival machine operators retrench. Merkur, the UK’s second-largest AGC operator, has already bid for some of 132 shops that Betfred put up for sale earlier this year. The Done family declined to comment.