Betfred Axes Rugby League Deal Over Gambling Tax Rises

Betfred has confirmed it will not renew its sponsorship of rugby league’s Super League once the current season ends, with founder Fred Done directly blaming recent increases in gambling taxation for the decision. The announcement, made by Done in the Sunday Times and confirmed by the bookmaker, brings to a close a partnership that has run since 2017.

What’s actually changed

Betfred will end its long-running sponsorship of rugby league’s Super League at the end of the 2026 season, with owner Fred Done blaming a combination of higher taxes and wage inflation for the decision, having served as title sponsor since 2017
.
The company has also sponsored the Challenge Cup since 2021 and has been a principal partner of England’s men’s, women’s and wheelchair teams for the past four years
.
At the start of April this year, remote gaming duty increased from 21% to 40%
, and
a new rate of general betting duty is due to rise from next year, excluding self-service betting terminals and spread betting
from the current lower rate.

This follows a bruising few months for the firm.
On 31 July 2026 Betfred opened a consultation to close 132 betting shops and cut more than 600 jobs, leaving it with around 1,100 outlets
.
Chief executive Jo Whittaker tied that decision to the combined impact of higher employer national insurance contributions, wage inflation, gambling tax increases and wider economic uncertainty
. Done has since written that the shop closures alone cost the business
600 jobs, £17.8 million in taxes and £4.2 million a year in payments to horseracing
.

The rugby league exit isn’t necessarily the end of the story either.
Betfred has a verbal agreement to renew sponsorship of the British Classic horse races for a further three years, but has warned it will walk away from those too if October’s Budget goes the wrong way on machine games duty
. The Rugby Football League has thanked Betfred for its backing and confirmed it will now look for new commercial partners.

What it means for you

For most Betfred customers, nothing changes immediately about how their account works, what deposit limits apply, or how complaints are handled — this is a marketing and sponsorship decision, not a change to terms or safer-gambling tools. But it’s a visible sign of how the sector is responding to the tax rises introduced in last year’s Budget. Watch for knock-on effects across the industry more broadly: when operators say tax and wage costs are squeezing margins, that pressure often shows up next in reduced marketing spend, fewer high-profile free-bet campaigns, or further shop and branch closures rather than in customer-facing account terms.
Bookmakers appear to be shifting the bulk of their remaining marketing spend towards football sponsorship instead
, so don’t be surprised if gambling advertising becomes even more concentrated around the sport in the coming months.

The bigger picture

This sits alongside a run of stories this year about UK operators recalibrating in response to the tax and regulatory environment set out in last year’s Budget and the wider Gambling Act reform programme.
Betfred’s own CEO has previously stressed that its shop closures weren’t down to gambling tax alone, also pointing to rising employer National Insurance contributions
— a reminder that tax reform is landing on operators from several directions at once, not just through the specific gambling duties. The threatened withdrawal from horseracing sponsorship, contingent on the outcome of October’s Budget, suggests this is unlikely to be the last such announcement. For players, the practical takeaway is less about any single sponsorship deal and more about what it signals: an industry under real cost pressure, which tends to translate into fewer promotional offers and a narrower, more football-focused advertising landscape rather than changes to core consumer protections.

Sources

• NEXT.io – Betfred boss blames tax hikes for end of rugby league sponsorship
• SBC News – Betfred to end historic Super League sponsorship this season
• Insider Media – Fred Done set to end rugby league backing – follows tax increases on gambling industry
• Total Rugby League – Betfred to pull out of rugby league sponsorship