Flutter plans to cut 1,400 jobs in Britain and Ireland to counter higher gambling taxes
Key Facts
Flutter Entertainment said on October 20, 2026 that it expects to cut up to 1,400 jobs as part of a restructuring of its business in Britain and Ireland in response to higher British gambling taxes. The company said in a statement that the planned job cuts remain subject to consultation. The business covered by the restructuring employs 9,000 people, according to figures the group provided at the time of the announcement. Flutter has a total global workforce of 28,500. The announcement follows revenue growth of 4% at the Britain and Ireland business in the second quarter of 2026, according to the company's quarterly earnings presentation.
Britain's remote gaming duty increase took effect on April 1, 2026, raising the rate from 21% to 40%, according to HM Revenue & Customs. Flutter had estimated that the British tax increases would reduce its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by about $320 million in 2026, before mitigation measures. The company's estimated impact on the same measure rises to about $540 million in 2027, also before those measures. Flutter said in its statement responding to the tax changes that its response includes "reducing operating, promotional and marketing spending". The company listed these cuts among its direct measures to mitigate the impact of the tax increases.
The British government says the gambling tax increases aim to raise more than £1 billion annually to support public finances. The Treasury cited growth in remote gaming gross gambling yield in the British market in explaining the tax change. That yield rose from £2.5 billion in the 2015-16 financial year to £4.5 billion in 2023-24, according to the ministry. The package also includes raising remote betting duty to 25%, according to the Treasury's response to the consultation on the activity's tax treatment. The new rate will replace the 15% rate from April 1, 2027.
At group level, results for the second quarter of 2026 showed revenue rising to $4,326 million, according to Flutter's quarterly earnings statement. Revenue in the corresponding period of 2025 was about $4,187 million, giving the group year-on-year growth of 3%. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, however, fell to $508 million in the second quarter of 2026. Those earnings were $919 million in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a year-on-year decline of 45%. The group posted a quarterly net loss of $296 million, compared with a net profit of $37 million in the corresponding period.
Flutter said in its second-quarter results that the next phase of its cost transformation programme targets total savings of $500 million by 2029. The earnings presentation listed the use of artificial intelligence in product development among the tools in the group's efficiency programme. The tools identified by the company also included improving operational efficiency through automation. In Brazil, Flutter estimated in a separate statement that a continued suspension of its operations through the end of the year would reduce 2026 revenue by about $70 million. It also estimated that a continued suspension for the rest of the year would reduce adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by about $20 million.
Flutter estimates the cost of implementing the restructuring of its Britain and Ireland business at between $80 million and $90 million, according to the statement announcing the plan. The company said this cost was already included in its previously updated guidance. In its second-quarter results update, the group had cut its annual adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation guidance by $210 million to $2.655 billion at the midpoint of the range. Restructuring implementation costs will be incurred in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the timetable announced by the company. Before the end of that quarter, Flutter plans to announce its third-quarter 2026 results on November 4, 2026, at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time.