Entain to Cut Hundreds of Additional Jobs as UK Gambling Tax Increases Reshape the Sector

Entain, the FTSE-listed owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is preparing to reduce hundreds of further roles as it adjusts to the financial consequences of the UK government’s tax increases on the gambling industry. The move comes in addition to the approximately 500 job cuts the company announced earlier in the year and reflects a broader contraction across the British betting market.

The Impact of the Budget Measures

The UK Budget introduced a significant rise in gambling duties, with the heaviest burden falling on online operators. Estimates around the measures suggested the Treasury expected to raise in the region of £1.1 billion from online gambling taxation, while high street betting shops and fruit machines were largely spared from the steepest increases. Bingo duty, by contrast, was reduced.

For Entain, the financial effect has been substantial. In its most recent annual results, the company reported losses of more than £680 million, up from £461 million the previous year. A large share of this was attributed to an unexpectedly large £488 million impairment charge linked to the looming tax changes. The company’s leadership has described the higher duties as having a considerable impact on its UK and Ireland online business, and Entain has since confirmed cutbacks to marketing spend in that division.

The financial pressure has also been reflected in the company’s market standing, with Entain set to be removed from the FTSE 100 index.

A Sector-Wide Contraction

Entain is not alone in retrenchment. Across the industry, the response to the Budget has been swift and measurable:

• Evoke, the owner of William Hill, has closed around 270 betting shops since the Budget, with earlier warnings that as many as 1,500 jobs could be affected across up to 200 branch closures.

• Betfred has announced the permanent closure of 132 shops, just over 10% of its estate, resulting in approximately 600 job losses.

• Bet365 has also confirmed plans to cut hundreds of roles.

• Industry-wide estimates suggest roughly 4,500 gambling sector jobs have been lost since the tax changes took effect.

Industry executives have consistently argued that the tax increases threaten the commercial viability of parts of the sector and, in some cases, risk pushing customers toward unregulated, offshore betting operators.