Key Points
- Fred Done transferred his property holdings to Jersey in March, just days before the Chancellor eliminated inheritance tax exemptions for family-owned enterprises
- The Done brothers contributed £400 million in taxes during the previous year, establishing them as Britain’s highest individual taxpayers in 2025
- Sky Bet relocated core business functions to Malta, with analysts estimating annual UK tax savings of approximately £55 million
- The Remote Gaming Duty rate for online casino platforms increases from 21% to 40% starting April 2026, while sports betting levies climb from 15% to 25% in 2027
- According to Betfred, 300 of its 1,273 British betting locations were operating at a loss even before recent budget modifications
In March 2026, Fred Done, the billionaire founder of Betfred, transferred his property holdings to Jersey. This strategic relocation occurred fewer than fourteen days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves abolished the inheritance tax relief previously available to family enterprises.
According to legal experts speaking with The Telegraph, this reorganization—which involves placing assets under trust ownership—has the potential to reduce inheritance tax obligations by tens of millions of pounds. The restructuring specifically affects Done’s real estate portfolio rather than Betfred’s gaming business operations.
Together with his brother Peter, Done remitted £400 million in taxes during the preceding year. Gambling duties on their Betfred business accounted for half of this sum, positioning them as Britain’s most significant individual taxpayers in 2025.
This relocation strategy emerges as British gambling enterprises confront substantially increased tax burdens. Reeves’ autumn budget elevated the Remote Gaming Duty on digital casino offerings from 21% to 40%, taking effect in April 2026.
The levy on online sports wagering will similarly climb from 15% to 25% beginning April 2027. The Chancellor anticipates these modifications will generate over £1 billion annually by 2031.
Sky Bet Pioneered the Offshore Migration Strategy
Betfred isn’t the first prominent British gambling enterprise to pursue offshore alternatives. Sky Bet, controlled by Flutter Entertainment, established SBG Sports Limited in Malta during late 2025.
The organization commenced transferring its commercial and promotional operations to the Mediterranean island. Financial analysts at Tax Policy Associates calculate this restructuring could reduce Sky Bet’s UK tax liability by roughly £55 million annually.
Flutter maintained the relocation focused on operational optimization and emphasized that Sky Bet would maintain its UK corporation tax obligations on earnings. Skeptics remained unconvinced.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the Treasury Select Committee to launch an investigation. Dan Neidle, an analyst with Tax Policy Associates, characterized the VAT arrangement as “improper,” a designation Flutter challenges.
When Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey questioned Prime Minister Keir Starmer about potential government intervention to prevent gambling enterprises from transferring profits offshore, Starmer offered no response.
Sky Bet allocated £135 million toward marketing in 2024. Betfred operates at comparable scale. With such substantial operations, even minor variations in tax treatment translate to significant financial benefits.
Economic Strain on British Gambling Operators
Flutter forecasted a pre-mitigation earnings impact of approximately £230 million in 2026 attributed to the tax modifications. This figure escalates to £540 million in 2027.
Kevin Harrington, Flutter’s chief executive for UK and Ireland operations, noted that Britain’s remote gaming duty now exceeds rates in countries like the Netherlands, where a recent tax elevation resulted in increased illegal gambling activity and reduced government revenue.
Fred Done has dedicated the past year contending that excessive taxation of British operators drives customers toward unregulated offshore competitors. In an October BBC interview, he stated there are “plenty of bookmakers offshore who happen to take the bets, who don’t pay anything to this country.”
Betfred chief executive Joanne Whittaker admitted she was “stupid and naive” for assuming the company’s retail betting locations would remain protected from tax increases. She remarked there are “people in the Treasury who don’t understand our business.”
Betfred operates approximately 1,273 British betting shops. Done cautioned that 300 locations were already unprofitable before the budget announcement. He suggested a tax increase might render the entire retail division unsustainable, potentially eliminating 7,500 positions.
Britain’s retail betting sector has contracted steadily for years, declining from nearly 10,000 establishments in 2017 to roughly 6,668 currently. Operators have been utilizing online revenue to sustain unprofitable physical shops, but the enhanced tax rates on digital operations threaten this business model.
