Betfred has confirmed plans to shut 132 betting shops from September, blaming higher taxes and wider economic uncertainty for the move.
The Warrington‑based bookmaker said the closures would affect just over a tenth of its UK estate, leaving it with around 1,100 branches nationwide.
The major British bookmaker has several shops in Somerset locations, including Minehead, Street, Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare.
At this moment in time, none of the above locations has been earmarked for closure.
Over 600 jobs lost as UK high street chain closes 130 shops
Betfred, founded by brothers Fred and Peter Done in 1967, has grown into one of the country’s biggest betting shop operators, with the pair’s combined wealth recently estimated at £3.61 billion.
Chief executive Jo Whittaker said the company had “worked hard” to protect high street outlets and jobs, but rising employer National Insurance contributions, wage pressures and increased gambling duties had made that more difficult.
Ms Whittaker said: “We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer national insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.
“These are well-run shops, staffed by dedicated colleagues, and it is incredibly hard to see any of them close, but the current fiscal and regulatory environment has made it impossible to keep trading all our shops.
“Our priority now is to support the colleagues affected, and to continue serving customers and communities across the rest of our estate.”
Betfred has not yet published a full list of locations earmarked for closure, and it is not yet clear whether any Somerset stores will be set to close down for good.