This morning sees the start of the Investment Summit hosted by Rachel Reeves and she has put out the line to The Times that “investments are a vote of confidence in the UK and the stability that this government has brought back to the economy.” She claims “Britain is open for business.” Unfortunately the Treasury also let it be known to the Guardian that officials are considering proposals to double taxes levied on the gaming sector, as Rachel Reeves “aims to pull every lever possible to raise funds in her upcoming budget.” Seeing as her manifesto revenue-raising proposals have been exposed as a fantasy…

UK gambling stocks slumped this morning following the report that Rachel Reeves is weighing proposals to increase taxes on the industry by as much as £3 billion. Whoops…

Jefferies investment bank analyst James Wheatcroft called the proposals “unrealistic” adding “the proposals apparently being considered would all but wipe out bookmaker profitability in the UK, per our estimates”. Shares in Ladbrokes-owner Entain Plc dropped 15%, casinos operator Rank Group Plc fell nearly 7%. Evoke Plc, owner of the William Hill betting brand, slid 16% and New York listed Flutter Entertainment tumbled 8.8% on the back of the tax hike report. Hardly the pro-business news that investors at the summit want to hear…

The British gaming industry is a global player, with the major groups employing software engineers and operations being major employers in Stoke, Manchester, Leeds, and Sunderland. Taxes on business are taxes on jobs…