William Hill owner Evoke has joined Ladbrokes owner Entain in threatening to close hundreds of betting shops if November’s Budget brings new taxes on the industry.

Evoke is eyeing closures of between 120 to 200 bookmaking outlets, according to the Sunday Times report.

Such closures would only amount to 9-15% of the 1,300-strong store estate of the William Hill chain. 

“We are mindful of potential tax increases in the forthcoming budget which would impact investment in the UK and drive more customers to the black market,” an Evoke spokesperson said.

“As part of our ongoing planning, we are assessing the potential impact of different overall tax scenarios on our UK operations. This includes the difficult but necessary consideration for shop closures.”

The company stressed that no decision had been taken yet.

Entain CEO Stella David last week said there would be “consequences” if UK taxes went up, as “a dislocating increase in tax will have a dislocating impact on the industry”.

She said there “are other markets we have to pivot to as being more worthy of investment” if UK taxes went up.