Flutter to cut up to 1,400 UK and Ireland jobs after UK betting tax rises

Flutter Entertainment is planning up to 1,400 redundancies across its UK&I operations after the UK’s higher betting and gaming taxes started to bite. For high-risk operators and their PSPs, the point is straightforward: when tax pressure rises, cost bases get cut, and the retail and regulated online mix usually gets reviewed fast.

1. Flutter said the planned job cuts will be subject to consultation and will affect staff in Leeds and Dublin, as well as UK&I roles based in offshore hubs such as Porto and Cluj-Napoca. The group said the restructuring is a response to substantial increases in UK betting and gaming taxes announced in last year’s Autumn Budget.
2. The cost of implementing the measures is estimated at between $80-90 million, with the charge expected to be recognised in the fourth quarter of 2026. Flutter employs approximately 28,500 people globally, around 9,000 of whom work in its UK & Ireland business.
3. Flutter UK&I CEO Kevin Harrington said the rise in UK taxes had “fundamentally changed” the economic models of regulated operators in the market. He added that the company could not fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing its fixed cost base, and said the business is being restructured to position it for the future.
4. The tax changes in question are already in force: then-chancellor Rachael Reeves announced in last year’s Autumn Budget that remote gaming duty would almost double from 21% to 40%, with the increase taking effect on 1 April this year. That has already fed through into sector-wide cutbacks.
5. Flutter’s move sits alongside a wider round of retrenchment across UK gambling. In August, Betfred announced plans to close up to 132 betting shops and cut more than 600 jobs; Evoke closed about 200 William Hill shops earlier this year, around 15% of its retail estate; and Bet365 said last month it was cutting around 340 jobs because of “tax-related costs”.

The next pressure point is the upcoming UK budget, where machines games duty (MGD) is being talked about as a possible candidate for a rise to 40%. The Social Market Foundation has urged the government to increase MGD on higher-risk Category B machines, while a group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor Jon Healey calling for the rise to be included. Flutter has already said it is considering closing up to 100 Paddy Power shops, so the market is clearly not treating this as abstract policy theatre.