TLDR Betfred owner Fred Done moved his property group to Jersey in March, ahead of the UK’s inheritance tax changes on family businesses Done and his brother paid £400 million in tax last year, making them the biggest individual UK taxpayers in 2025 Sky Bet already moved commercial operations to Malta, reportedly saving around £55 million in UK tax per year Remote Gaming Duty on online casino games jumps from 21% to 40% in April 2026, with sports betting duty rising from 15% to 25% in 2027 Betfred warns that 300 of its 1,273 UK betting shops were already loss-making before the budget changes
Fred Done, the billionaire owner of Betfred, moved his property group to Jersey in March 2026. The move came less than two weeks before UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves removed the inheritance tax exemption for family-owned businesses.
Lawyers told The Telegraph that the restructuring, which places ownership under a trust, could save tens of millions in inheritance tax. The move relates to Done’s property interests rather than Betfred’s gambling operations directly.
Done and his brother Peter paid £400 million in tax last year. Half of that came from gambling duty on their Betfred empire. That made them the largest individual UK taxpayers in 2025.
The move comes as UK gambling operators face a much tougher tax environment. Reeves’ autumn budget raised Remote Gaming Duty on online casino games from 21% to 40%, effective April 2026.
The online sports betting duty will also increase from 15% to 25% starting in April 2027. The Chancellor projects these changes will bring in more than £1 billion per year by 2031.
Sky Bet’s Malta Move Set the Template
Betfred is not the first major UK gambling brand to look offshore. Sky Bet, owned by Flutter Entertainment, created a