Flutter Announces Plans To Axe 1,400 Jobs; Tax Raid Blamed For Cuts

Gambling giant Flutter has unveiled plans to shed up to 1,400 jobs across its UK and Ireland (UK&I) division. The Paddy Power and Sky Bet owner will make the cuts, impacting staff at its Leeds and Dublin bases, as well as other offices in Portugal and Romania where colleagues support the UK&I operation.

And Labour’s tax raid last year has been blamed for the drastic company restructure. The then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced a steep hike in remote gaming duty (RGD) paid on online casino bets which climbed from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY) in April, while next year, general betting duty paid on online sports bets will rise from 15% to 25% of GGY, and the impact has been felt by operators.

Cuts come with a cost

Flutter employs 28,000 globally, of which 9,000 work across the UK&I business. The proposed redundancies represent roughly 15% of the UK&I division, but it will come at a price.

A company statement indicated the associated costs of implementing the restructure could be as much as £70 million, and would be incurred in Q4 2026.

The job losses reflect ongoing cost-reducing measures taken by Flutter to cushion the tax blow, and Flutter’s UK&I CEO Kevin Harrington is all too aware of the economic uncertainty facing the betting industry.

He said:

“My immediate focus is providing the necessary support for all of our impacted colleagues and guiding our teams through what we know is going to be a difficult and challenging period for all concerned.

“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.

"As we warned a year ago, we can’t fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base and therefore must restructure our business so we can best position ourselves for the future.”

Low shareholder confidence

Despite recent reports suggesting city analysts are harbouring confidence in a turnaround for Flutter, with Citi adjusting its rating from ‘neutral to buy’, the company has absorbed excessive share pressure over the past year.

Yes, Flutter’s share price has tanked by more than 60%, and it moved away from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to make the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) its primary listing.

The upheaval in leadership roles has also contributed to low shareholder confidence as Peter Jackson left as CEO in September on the back of a disconcerting set of Q2 results. Dan Taylor, the former UK&I lead, officially took control earlier this month to propel Flutter’s next stage of growth, and the company will release its Q3 2026 results on November 4.

BGC responds

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) have continually banged the drum for the betting industry, issuing warnings about the impact of tax rises. And the trade body’s CEO, Grainne Hurst, believes the Flutter redundancies should serve as a wake-up call to the government.

She said:

“The warnings could not be clearer. Businesses are already cutting jobs, closing betting shops and scaling back investment. Further tax rises will only accelerate that damage, putting thousands more jobs at risk, threatening high streets and handing an advantage to the unsafe, unregulated illegal gambling market.

“Ministers must recognise the damage already being done to the regulated sector and think again before imposing further tax rises that will cost more jobs and livelihoods.”