RACHEL Reeves has been warned any betting tax rises will cripple beloved British sports such as horse racing.
The Tories have thrown their weight behind our Save Our Bets campaign.
They warn any Budget raid will cost jobs, shut betting shops and rip cash out of racing, football, darts and rugby league which bookies boost with sponsorship and media deals.
The Chancellor is said to be considering sparing racing from direct tax hikes — but MPs and the industry warn it will not work if she slaps higher taxes on profits from online gaming.
They point out bookies only have one pot of money to back sports.
Shadow Sport Minister Louie French said: “Labour’s nanny state tax raid on gambling will fuel the black market and damage British sports.
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“Hiking betting taxes will put at risk millions of pounds of sponsorship investment into UK sports.
“It’s a foolish plan.”
Rob Wood, chief financial officer of Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain, said racing supports 85,000 jobs nationwide, including 20,000 on racecourses, and each meeting “brings life to towns, pubs, hotels and high streets”.
He said 30 per cent of betting shops had closed in the last six years, with many of the 6,000 left “hanging by a thread”.
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He added: “And when a shop closes, it is not just the staff who lose.
“The Treasury loses tax.
“The high street loses footfall.
“Racing loses funding.”
