President of the T&T Bookmakers Association Peter George says the combination of online gambling, underground gambling, casinos and the ten per cent tax on horse racing bets is having negative impact on local betting shops.Speaking to the T&T Guardian from his office at the recently closed Fair Chance Racing Service, on Queen Street, George said eight betting shops have shut down indefinitely in peaceful and silent protest to bring the issue to the attention of the Government so that it might be resolved.He said approximately 400 workers have been affected by the closure of the betting shops.
George said there were 28 betting shops operating in the country in 1993 but a decade later, by December 2013 that number had dwindled to 14. With the closure of Bob's Racing Service in SanJuan and Ascot Racing Service in Marabella at the end of the year, only 12 betting shops remain.He said betting shops have suffered a big drop in business over the last four years because of a ten per cent tax imposed on every bet placed on a horse race."Online betting, illegal gambling and casinos have been making inroads into betting shops' profits," George said. "That has reduced our viability in our businesses in the last few years and now it doesn't make sense to operate anymore."He said punters are turning to online gambling because they don't have to pay taxes and many are being drawn to the casinos and slot machines because of the entertainment, free food and drinks.
George wants the Government do away with the "punitive" ten per cent tax which he described as a severe burden to punters as well as betting shop owners who are not making any money and, in some cases, losing money.He said there was a misconception that betting shops make a lot of money. He explained that they dealt with percentages of sales and even if they managed to get a 12 to 15 per cent profit, expenses were 15 per cent and higher.He said the perception that betting shops were lucrative ventures was wrong because if they were, why would they be reduced from a high of 28 betting shops to 12 in 2014.George said he was hoping the Government and the Betting Levy Board came up with solutions so the betting shops could be viable once more.