Flutter Entertainment to Cut Up to 1,400 Jobs in UK and Ireland Due to Tax Increases

Flutter Entertainment will cut up to 1,400 jobs across its UK and Ireland operations. The redundancies affect sites in Leeds and Dublin plus UK and Ireland staff based at hubs in Porto, Portugal and Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The company employs around 9,000 UK and Ireland staff.

Around 300 of the affected roles are in Cluj-Napoca, according to a LinkedIn confirmation from Betfair Romania Development. The moves are attributed to the significant increase in UK gaming taxation announced in last year’s Autumn Budget.

Tax Increases Drive Cost Reductions

Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) rose from 21%-40% in April 2026, and General Betting Duty (GBD) will increase from 15%-25% in April 2027. A potential increase in Machine Games Duty to 40% would add further pressure, with 90 Labour Party MPs lobbying for that change.

Kevin Harrington, Flutter UK&I CEO, 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.”

Harrington continued: “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 while helping to fuel the unlicensed, unregulated market.”

He added: “As we warned a year ago, we cannot fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base and therefore must restructure our business so that we can best position ourselves for the future.”

The associated costs to implement this restructuring of $80m-$90m were captured within the updated guidance issued within Flutter’s Q2 earnings update and will be incurred in Q4 2026.

Leadership Transition and Market Position

The announcement follows the appointment of Dan Taylor as group CEO, replacing Peter Jackson. Taylor previously served as CEO of Flutter International and oversaw Flutter UK&I, where Harrington reported to him. Taylor had also led Paddy Power Betfair between 2018 and 2020.

UK and Ireland revenue rose 4% year-on-year to $971m in Q2 2026. The business holds market share of around 39% in sports betting and 22% in iGaming. The tax rises are expected to cost $540m in 2027, with $201m in first-order mitigation already planned.

The company remains confident that it is well placed to benefit from share gains given its position as the largest scale operator in the UK. The job cuts illustrate the employment consequences of the tax measures, as reported by SBC News.

Reporting: SBC News

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