Flutter to cut up to 1,400 jobs amid UK tax pressures
Up to 1,400 jobs could be lost across Flutter Entertainment’s UK&I operations after the group announced plans to restructure its business.
Tuesday’s announcement is in response to substantial increases in UK betting and gaming taxes announced in last year’s Autumn Budget.
The company said the planned redundancies, which will be subject to consultation, will affect staff in Leeds and Dublin and include UK&I roles based in offshore hubs such as Porto and Cluj‑Napoca.
A Flutter spokesperson said to iGB that job cuts can be expected “across every function” of the company.
The cost of implementing the measures is estimated at between $80-90 million and is expected to be recognised in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Flutter employs approximately 28,500 people globally, roughly 9,000 of whom work in its UK & Ireland business.
Flutter’s UK&I CEO Kevin Harrington highlighted the impact of the rise in UK taxes, saying they had “fundamentally changed” the economic models of regulated operators in the market.
“As we warned a year ago, we cannot fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base and therefore must restructure our business so that we can best position ourselves for the future,” Harrington said.
“We remain confident that we are well placed to benefit from share gains given our position as the largest scale operator in the UK.”
Tax pressures telling in the UK
Flutter’s announcement follows a difficult year for UK gambling operators as they grapple with a rising tax burden and tighter regulation.
In last year’s Autumn Budget, then-chancellor Rachael Reeves announced remote gaming duty would nearly double from 21% to 40%. That rise came into effect on 1 April this year.
The move prompted a string of cost‑saving moves across the sector.
In August, Betfred announced plans to close up to 132 betting shops in the UK while reducing its workforce by over 600 employees.
Evoke also closed approximately 200 of its William Hill shops earlier this year, representing around 15% of its retail estate.
When revealing plans to cut around 340 jobs last month, Bet365 cited “tax-related costs”.
MGD hike could heighten tax fears further
The UK betting sector is also nervously awaiting the upcoming budget, set to be announced next week.
Speculation has grown that machines games duty (MGD) is set to double to 40% after the Social Market Foundation, a think tank, urged the government to hike the MGD on higher-risk Category B machines.
Last week, a group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger wrote to the UK Chancellor Jon Healey calling for the MGD rise to be included in his budget.
Betfred owner Fred Done told the Financial Times in September that additional tax hikes could result in widespread shop closures and the near-elimination of the UK’s retail betting market.
Just last month, Flutter revealed it was considering closing up to 100 of its Paddy Power shops.