Flutter to cut up to 1,400 UK and Ireland jobs following tax increases
The operator faces a $540m annual hit from duty increases, prompting restructuring across hubs in Leeds, Dublin, Porto and Cluj-Napoca.
- Flutter Entertainment plans to reduce up to 1,400 roles across its 9,000-strong UK and Ireland workforce.
- Remote Gaming Duty rose to 40% in April 2026, with General Betting Duty set to rise to 25% in April 2027.
- Restructuring will cost between $80m and $90m in Q4 2026 as Flutter pursues $201m in initial mitigations.
Flutter Entertainment has outlined plans to reduce its UK and Ireland workforce by up to 1,400 positions, as the group seeks to offset significant duty increases introduced by the UK government.
The gambling group currently employs approximately 9,000 personnel within its UK and Ireland division, which operates three core brands: Paddy Power, Betfair, and Sky Betting & Gaming. The planned redundancies will affect staff situated in Leeds, Dublin, Porto, and Cluj-Napoca. Betfair Romania Development has confirmed that around 300 UK and Ireland division workers based in Cluj-Napoca will be affected by the cuts.
Tax increases prompt $201m mitigation effort
The restructuring comes directly after steep rises in UK betting duties. Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) increased from 21% to 40% in April 2026, while General Betting Duty (GBD) is scheduled to rise from 15% to 25% in April 2027.
Flutter leadership stated that it expected the tax increases to cost the business $540m in 2027. To address the resulting financial impact, the company announced plans to partially offset the liability through a first-order mitigation package of $201m. Implementing the restructuring programme is projected to cost between $80m and $90m, with those expenses due to be incurred in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Retail reviews and political lobbying
The operational reductions follow earlier measures taken across the operator's high-street presence. Earlier in the year, Flutter placed 100 of its Paddy Power betting shops under review.
Fiscal pressure on the broader gambling industry remains a subject of ongoing political focus in Westminster. A total of 90 Labour Party MPs have signed a letter written by Alex Ballinger MP lobbying for a doubling of Machine Games Duty (MGD) on Category B gaming machines.
Executive transition and divisional trading
The job cuts follow major leadership changes at the group level. Dan Taylor, formerly the chief executive of Flutter International and chief executive of Paddy Power Betfair between 2018 and 2020, has taken over from Peter Jackson as group chief executive of Flutter Entertainment. Kevin Harrington leads the regional division as chief executive of Flutter UK&I.
The division had shown commercial expansion prior to the restructuring. In the second quarter of 2026, Flutter's UK and Ireland revenue increased by 4% year-over-year to $971m. Prior to his departure from the company, Peter Jackson stated that Flutter held a market share of around 39% in sports betting and 22% in iGaming.
