Stewart Kenny, co-founder of Paddy Power in 1988, accused Betfred founder Fred Done of 'scaremongering' over proposed tax increases on gambling, saying Done used the same warnings he once did while in the industry. Done had warned that doubling machine gaming duty to 40% would force Betfred to close 495 shops, lose 2,575 jobs, and forfeit £67mn in tax, calling the UK's biggest taxpayer. Kenny countered that similar predictions before fixed-odds betting terminal curbs failed to materialize.

He argued for intelligent taxation targeting high-harm machines like slots, which account for half of Betfred shop profits. Betfred paid £242mn in tax in 2025 and made £1.45bn revenue and £209mn operating profit in 18 months to March 2025. Done and his brother Peter paid £400mn in taxes last year, making them Britain's biggest individual taxpayers.

Kenny stepped down from Paddy Power's board in 2016; the company is now part of Flutter Entertainment.