Flutter to cut up to 1,400 UK and Ireland jobs after gambling duty rises

Flutter Entertainment informed staff on 20 October that up to 1,400 roles in its UK & Ireland division could be cut, and it linked the restructure to higher UK gambling duties.

For operators and their partners, the move shows how the April 2026 and April 2027 duty changes are feeding through to cost bases at Flutter.

What happened

Flutter's UK & Ireland division employs around 9,000 people. Management briefed affected departments on the morning of 20 October, according to NEXT.io and EGR. The company's statement put the potential reductions at up to 1,400 jobs.

The cuts will touch staff in Leeds and Dublin, as well as Flutter hubs serving the division in Porto, Cluj-Napoca, Gibraltar and Malta. According to SBC News, Betfair Romania Development stated on LinkedIn that roughly 300 UK & Ireland staff based in Cluj-Napoca will be affected.

According to EGR, tombola, Betfair, Sky Betting & Gaming and Paddy Power all sit within the division.

Kevin Harrington, chief executive of the UK & Ireland division, said the duty increases that the UK Budget announced last year had changed the economic model of the regulated industry and, in his words, helped fuel the unlicensed market. He said Flutter could not absorb a rise of that size, adding: "we cannot fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base". He also said Flutter remains "well placed to benefit from share gains" as the largest operator in the UK.

Flutter said the associated restructuring costs of $80m-$90m were included in the guidance issued with its Q2 earnings update and will fall in Q4 2026.

The tax backdrop, as reported by the three outlets:

• Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% in April 2026.
• General Betting Duty will go up from 15% to 25% in April 2027.
• NEXT.io reported that further changes are likely in the autumn Budget and may include doubling Machine Games Duty to 40%. This has not been confirmed in the sources.

NEXT.io reported that, when the reforms were announced, Flutter estimated an adjusted EBITDA impact before mitigation of approximately $320m in fiscal 2026 and $540m in fiscal 2027. First-order mitigation announced at that stage was expected to recover $201m. NEXT.io reported that the job cuts are part of continuing measures.

EGR reported that the division generated $971m of revenue in Q2 2026, around 22% of group revenue. Dan Taylor became group chief executive in early October, succeeding Peter Jackson.

Other operators have also announced cuts. EGR reported that Entain said in July it would cut 500 roles and later announced a further 400, while bet365 said in September that 340 jobs would go across its European hubs. In September, the Betting and Gaming Council put job losses at 11,000 since the online duty increases were announced in November 2025.

Why it matters

Affiliates and suppliers working with Flutter's UK brands should check whether their account management, marketing or technical contacts sit in the affected teams or locations, and confirm that commercial arrangements and timelines still hold.

Operators will need to test their own cost bases against the duty schedule. The Remote Gaming Duty increase is already in force, and the General Betting Duty rise is due in April 2027. A decision on Machine Games Duty, if confirmed in the Budget, would add pressure for operators with retail estates.

Harrington's reference to share gains suggests Flutter expects scale to help it hold or grow market share while smaller UK competitors face the same duties. That could affect competition for customers and the cost of acquisition for affiliates and media buyers, although the sources give no figures on this.

The cuts also span several jurisdictions, with Malta, Portugal and Romania among the hubs named. Operators with European service or development centres supporting UK-facing brands could face similar decisions.

What's next

Flutter's Q3 2026 results are scheduled for 4 November. The autumn Budget may show whether Machine Games Duty rises.