Flutter plans up to 1,400 job cuts in UK and Ireland restructure
Flutter Entertainment has said it plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs in a restructuring of its UK and Ireland business, which it linked to increases in UK gambling taxes.
The company, which owns Paddy Power and Sky Bet, said the changes would affect its UK and Ireland division. It employs 8,960 people in that domestic market, meaning more than 10% of the workforce there could lose their jobs, according to The Guardian.
Staff in Leeds, Dublin and Sunderland are expected to be affected. Leeds was Sky Bet's key centre of operations. Redundancies are also expected in Porto, Portugal, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Flutter also owns Betfair, according to a separate report.
The company pointed to tax rises announced in the 2025 autumn budget by Rachel Reeves, who was former UK chancellor as of October 2026. Remote gaming duty, the tax paid on online casino-style games, rose from 21% to 40%. Duty on online sports bets rose from 15% to 25%.
Flutter has estimated that the higher duties would reduce its adjusted EBITDA, a measure of operating profit, by about $320 million in fiscal 2026 and by about $540 million in 2027, Reuters reported. It expects the redundancy round itself to bring a one-off $90 million (£67.3 million) cost. Kevin Harrington is chief executive of Flutter UK and Ireland.
The company published an official notice titled "Flutter announces restructure of UKI business" on its flutter.com newsroom.
The plan drew criticism from Paddy Power founder Stewart Kenny, who accused the gambling industry of scaremongering about jobs to avoid paying more tax.
Entain and Flutter shares turned positive after initially falling following early publication of UK budget details by the fiscal watchdog, the body that produces independent forecasts for government tax and spending plans.
