Flutter to cut 1,400 jobs in UK and Ireland after gambling tax rises

Flutter Entertainment said on Tuesday it will cut up to 1,400 jobs across the UK and Ireland in a restructuring aimed at offsetting the impact of higher gambling taxes, Reuters reported.

The owner of Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair said the cuts would hit around 15% of its UK and Ireland workforce, affecting staff in Leeds and Dublin as well as UK and Irish employees at its hubs in Porto, Portugal, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the Press Association reported.

Flutter said the restructuring would cost between $80 million and $90 million, with the charges booked in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Kevin Harrington, Flutter’s UK and Ireland chief executive, said 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”. He added: “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.”

The government raised taxes on online casinos and sports betting in last year’s Budget, exempting horse racing. The announcement comes days after six gambling bosses, including Flutter’s, wrote to Chancellor John Healey urging him to rule out further duty rises at next week’s Budget.