Flutter Entertainment confirmed on Tuesday that it plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs across its UK and Ireland business. The betting giant has blamed a sharp increase in British gaming taxes for the move, saying it has fundamentally altered the economics of the regulated betting industry.
Flutter has become the largest UK gambling operator to announce job cuts in response to higher taxes, adding to a series of workforce reductions across a sector facing its most significant tax overhaul in recent history.
Several operators have also warned of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost earnings because of the changes.
Entain, Betfred and Paddy Power shops face cuts
In September, Ladbrokes owner Entain outlined plans to cut 400 customer care roles, about 20% of those positions, so that the company would remain “competitive, financially resilient and well-positioned” under a heavier tax burden.
Entain also sent a letter to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to voice concerns over any further tax increases on the sector.
Flutter said that same month it was considering up to 100 Paddy Power shop closures across the UK and Ireland, which would put about 400 jobs at risk.
Betfred, for its part, has previously threatened to close its entire retail estate of more than 1,200 shops.
The cuts follow the UK government’s 2025 Autumn Budget, which introduced substantial increases to online gambling taxation.
Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% in April 2026, and General Betting Duty on sports betting, excluding horse racing, is scheduled to rise by 10 percentage points to 25% in April 2027.
Leeds, Dublin, Porto and Cluj-Napoca staff affected
Flutter disclosed its restructuring plan in a statement to the markets on Tuesday, and it began notifying employees the same day. The cuts will affect staff in Leeds and Dublin, along with UK and Ireland employees at the company’s hubs in Porto, Portugal, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
The planned redundancies account for close to 16% of the 9,000 people in Flutter’s UK and Ireland business. The owner of Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair employs 28,500 people worldwide.
The company expects the restructuring to cost between $80 million and $90 million, mainly through severance payments, employee benefits and other expenses. Flutter will incur the charges in the fourth quarter of this year, and it expects to complete most of the restructuring by the end of 2026.
Harrington links the decision to last year’s Budget
“My immediate focus is providing the necessary support for all of our impacted colleagues and guiding our teams through what we know is going to be a difficult and challenging period for all concerned,” said Kevin Harrington, CEO of Flutter UK and Ireland.
He described the restructuring, however, as an unavoidable consequence of the government’s decision to raise gambling taxes.
“The material increase in betting and gaming duties announced in the UK Budget last year has fundamentally changed the economic model of the regulated betting and gaming industry in the UK while helping to fuel the unlicensed, unregulated market,” Harrington said.
“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,” he added.
Tax changes weigh on Flutter’s earnings
Flutter reported in its Q2 results in August that the UK tax increase had already contributed to a 45% decline in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter.
The company has estimated that the tax changes will reduce its adjusted EBITDA by $540 million in 2027, and it expects initial cost-cutting measures, which include the announced restructuring, to offset $201 million of that impact.
Despite the job losses, Flutter believes its scale will allow it to gain ground while the UK gambling market adjusts to higher taxes.
“We remain confident that we are well placed to benefit from share gains given our position as the largest scale operator in the UK,” Harrington said.