Entain Set to Make 500 Redundancies; Denies Link to Increased Taxes

Entain is reportedly set to make approximately 500 redundancies, as part of an efficiency initiative, despite CEO Stella David previously indicating job cuts would not be made in response to tax increases in the UK.

From the start of April, remote gaming duty, paid on online casino bets, was raised from 21% of gross gambling yield (GGY) to 40%. In addition, general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, will go up from 15% of GGY to 25% in April 2027; bets on horseracing will be exempt from this. Entain previously estimated this would increase its annual costs by about £200 million before mitigations are taken into account.

Where will the cuts be made?

The cuts will represent 2% of Entain’s global workforce. The cuts are set to be made across several corporate function areas, including people, finance and governance.

There will also be redundancies within product and technology teams. Currently, specifics have not been mentioned with regards to which territories or Entain brands where the cuts will be made.

The Ladbrokes and Coral owner has denied this is linked to increased taxation in the UK, but would still seem contradictory to comments made by David earlier this year.

In an interview with Bloomberg in March, David said more than half of the £200 million in additional expenditure would be offset through measures including reducing marketing spend, optimising bonuses, and other operating efficiencies.

While David did not explicitly say no job cuts would be made, she was quoted by Bloomberg as saying:

“It's not about job cuts at all; it's about gaining share."

Whether the decision to cut 500 jobs is an exact u-turn on that comment comes down to whether the cuts are officially linked to the tax increase, as that was the context in which David made the comment.

Cost cutting plans

Reports suggest the cuts are part of a wider initiative being implemented by new Chief Financial Officer Michael Snape, who was appointed in March, replacing Rob Wood. Cost cutting is currently a common theme at Entain.

In June, Entain made its first move towards exiting central and eastern Europe, announcing it had agreed to sell a 20% stake in its joint venture in the region to existing partner EMMA Capital for approximately €425 million (£366 million). The deal valued Entain CEE at £1.9 billion, with completion expected during Q4 2026.

Impact across the market

The impact of the UK tax increase has been felt at other operators. In March, Flutter Entertainment confirmed its Paddy Power brand was reviewing the structure of its marketing operation in light of the changes announced in the Budget (when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the tax changes last November).

After the tax increase was announced, Flutter, which also owns Betfair and Sky Bet, said the increases will cost the company approximately $320 million (£241.9 million) in fiscal 2026 and $540 million (£408.1 million) in fiscal 2027.

Flutter said it will have to mitigate this by reducing operational, promotional and marketing spend, which will account for approximately 20% of the gross impact of the first six months post implementation.

Meanwhile, William Hill owner Evoke said its duty costs will increase by £125 million to £135 million per year after the tax rises are fully implemented.

Supplier savings, reduced marketing, retail store closures, operating cost savings, and potential changes to the customer proposition will help Evoke mitigate approximately 50% of the impact.