Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair, has confirmed it will cut up to 1,400 jobs, attributing the decision to the gambling tax increase announced in last year's Autumn Budget.
The New York-listed company will restructure its UK and Ireland division, reducing its workforce by approximately 15 per cent. Redundancies will affect roles in Leeds and Dublin, as well as in Portugal and Romania, where employees support the UK operation.
Tax rise impact
The betting giant said the cuts were a direct response to the "significant increase" in UK gambling taxes unveiled in last year's Autumn Budget. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves nearly doubled the levy from 21 per cent to 40 per cent. The changes came into force this April, and bookmakers are now preparing for a further rise in the levy on their profits, from 15 per cent to 25 per cent from April 2027, as reported by City AM.
Kevin Harrington, Flutter's UK&I chief executive, said the gambling industry "cannot fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base". He added that recent tax increases have "fundamentally changed the economic model of the regulated betting and gaming industry in the UK while helping to fuel the unlicensed, unregulated market".
The Office for Budget Responsibility warned in November 2025 that punters shifting towards illegal gambling sites following the hikes could also reduce the anticipated tax take by around £500m.
Workforce and shop closures
Flutter, which owns high-street bookmaker Paddy Power alongside Sky Bet, Betfair and Tombola, employs 8,960 staff across its UK and Ireland division. The redundancy proposals follow earlier warnings from the gambling giant that it faces a £400m blow from Labour's tax increases in April 2027, leading the firm to seek cost-cutting measures.
The latest round of job cuts also comes on top of plans revealed last month to review 100 Paddy Power betting shops, placing around 400 roles at risk. Flutter, however, confirmed those shops are unaffected by its most recent redundancy announcement.
Industry-wide reductions
Flutter's share price has plummeted 64.5 per cent since the start of the year, with shares currently trading at $77.3 (£57.8). Rival bookmakers have also attributed Labour's tax raid as the driving force behind their own workforce reductions and shop closures.
William Hill shuttered 270 shops in April, while Betfred announced 132 closures in July, affecting 600 workers. Bet365 revealed approximately 340 redundancies in September, and Ladbrokes-owner Entain proposed axing 400 customer service roles.
Chancellor Healey is reportedly weighing up whether to increase machine gaming duty — the levy applied to slot machines — in the Autumn Budget. Six gambling industry chiefs, including Harrington, wrote to the Chancellor last week urging him to resist further hikes and abandon next year's planned rise in betting duty. They cautioned that pressing ahead could result in as many as 15,900 job losses, along with 1,470 shop closures and 34 casino closures.
