Paddy Power Bearing Brunt Of Tax Rises; 100 Betting Shops Under Review

Paddy Power is reportedly carrying out an extensive review of its retail betting estate, and it is feared 100 betting shops could close across the UK and Ireland (UK&I).

The Flutter-owned gambling company shut down 57 shops last year, but Paddy Power insists there are a multitude of external pressures influencing the current review. Apart from the steep rise in gambling taxes, Paddy Power cited increasing energy costs, rents, and business rates for taking measures to reduce its retail presence.

Stripping back its operation

Over the past year, Paddy Power has shown the scars caused by the significant tax hikes. In the November budget presented by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, remote gaming duty (RGD) paid on online casino bets was bumped up from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY), squeezing operators in the process.

In its current review, Paddy Power conceded that 100 shops could be removed from the high streets, which could put 400 jobs on the line. This, in turn, would reduce Paddy Power’s retail headcount to 1,909, while the proposed closures would represent just under a fifth of its retail estate being culled.

A Flutter spokesperson said: “We are incredibly proud of our high street estate, and it remains a key part of our business in communities across the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately, we have had to take the extremely difficult decision to conduct this review.

“The high street trading environment has been challenging for a number of years given rising costs, fierce competition, economic uncertainty and the shift to online. Our immediate priority at this time is to support those colleagues affected by this announcement.”

Retail betting in the eye of the storm

Recently, retail betting has found itself in the eye of the storm. The UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, scolded the sector, setting out the framework of a gambling policy which would give UK councils greater powers to restrict the opening of new land-based betting establishments. Within this, he lumped betting shops in the same category as vaping businesses, referring to them as undesirable venues.

Scrapping the ‘aim to permit’ rule, which was enshrined in the 2005 Gambling Act, has been earmarked as a potential measure. But more generally speaking, retail betting companies have been forced to take drastic action.

At the start of last month, Betfred announced they were shutting down 132 shops, equating to 10% of the company’s overall footprint. More pertinently, Betfred was thinking of taking steps to move into the Adult Gaming Centre (AGC) sphere even though that may be fraught with problems if Burnham gets his way to tax such establishments harder.

Concerning times for Flutter

At a broader level, these are worrying times for Flutter. Apart from removing itself from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to focus on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as its primary listing, Flutter shared some disconcerting Q2 results.

Despite experiencing 4% revenue growth in the UK&I on the back of the 2026 World Cup, the group confirmed a net loss of £220 million, which contrasted with the £27.5 million profit recorded for the same corresponding period last year. On top of that, the financial results signalled a change at board level, with Peter Jackson standing down as CEO.

Bad news keeps on coming

Across the retail betting industry, it feels like the bad news keeps on coming. Betting.co.uk reached out to Paddy Power for further comment, but they declined to answer.