Gambling stocks fall as Reeves mulls raising taxes

Shares in British gambling companies dropped sharply yesterday, reducing the stock market value of large operators by more than £2bn, after the Guardian reported that Treasury officials could tap the sector for between £900m and £3bn in extra taxes.

- Rob Davies

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has come under pressure from two influential thinktanks to raise taxes on the industry, as she pulls every available lever to plug a £22bn shortfall in the country's finances.

Treasury officials working on Labour's first budget in 14 years, which will be published on 30 October, are understood to be open to raising the amount of duty paid by an industry that takes in £11bn a year from British punters.