Flutter Entertainment Cuts 1,400 Jobs Over UK Tax Hikes

Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of Paddy Power, Betfair, and Sky Bet, announced plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs across its UK and Ireland division. The restructuring represents approximately 16% of the regional workforce and includes 240 redundancies at the company's head office in Dublin. Additional cuts will affect staff in Leeds, Sunderland, and service centers in Porto, Portugal; Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Malta; and Gibraltar.

The company attributes the layoffs to significant tax increases from the 2025 autumn budget, which doubled remote gaming duty to 40% and raised online sports bet duty to 25%. Flutter expects these changes to impact its 2027 adjusted EBITDA by $540 million, though it anticipates $201 million in first-order mitigation. The company expects one-off redundancy costs between $80 million and $90 million in the final quarter of 2026. In a related move, Flutter confirmed plans to close up to 100 Paddy Power betting shops in Britain and Ireland.

While the company blames government policy, some industry insiders suggest the 2026 acquisition and integration of SkyBet contributed to the cuts. Critics, including Paddy Power founder Stewart Kenny, have accused the industry of using tax rises as cover for strategic cost-cutting. Meanwhile, the British government is considering further increases to the machine games duty in its upcoming budget, a move industry leaders warn would trigger further contraction.