William Hill ups hit from Budget as shares carry on sliding
William Hill’s revised up how big the hit it’ll take from the increase in tax on its fixed-odds betting terminals will be – to £22m.
In a document entitled “Clarification re Budget”, the bookmaker explains its original figure of £16m, put forward in response to George Osborne’s Budget announcement that machine games duty (MGD) would go up from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, needs increasing.
The tax will now be applied to two types of machines rather than one, said the firm, adding:
The total impact of this increase in MGD would be £22m (based upon 2013 machines gross win) as opposed to the previously guided £16m impact.
William Hill shares fell seven per cent yesterday on the Budget announcement, and have shed a further three per cent today, to 341p.