Flutter Entertainment to cut up to 1,400 jobs across UK and Ireland gambling business

The NYSE-listed gambling operator will cut jobs in Leeds and Dublin as well as in Portugal and Romania.

Key takeaways:

• Flutter Entertainment plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs across its UK and Ireland operations, affecting staff in Leeds, Dublin, Porto and Cluj-Napoca as part of a major restructuring programme.
• The company says the move is largely driven by higher UK gambling taxes, including increases to Remote Gaming Duty and General Betting Duty, which Flutter previously estimated could cost it around $540m in 2027.

UK.- The Irish gambling giant Flutter Entertainment has announced plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs in a restructuring across its UK and Ireland operations. The redundancies will affect staff at sites including Leeds and Dublin, as well as employees working for the company’s UK and Ireland business from Flutter hubs in Porto, Portugal, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Flutter currently employs around 9,000 people across the UK and Ireland. Betfair Romania Development confirmed on LinkedIn that around 300 UK and Ireland roles in Cluj-Napoca are expected to be impacted by the restructuring.

The company blamed “the significant increase in UK gaming taxation announced in last year’s Autumn Budget” in the UK, which introduced a rise in Remote Gaming Duty from 21 to 40 per cent from April 2026 and an upcoming rise in General Betting Duty from 15 to 25 per cent from April 2027.

The timing of today’s announcement also comes as the industry braces for a widely expected announcement of a rise in Machine Games Duty for Category B gaming machines in next week’s budget. If the rate is doubled to 40 per cent as proposed, that would further impact Flutter’s remaining Paddy Power retail operations. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to close around 100 Paddy Power betting shops amid a long-term decline in retail betting in the UK while online play has been growing.

Flutter’s announcement also comes just weeks after Dan Taylor succeeded Peter Jackson as chief executive of the wider Flutter group at the start of this month. Taylor previously led Flutter International and oversaw Flutter’s UK and Ireland division, where UK and Ireland chief executive Kevin Harrington reported directly to him. Taylor also served as chief executive of Paddy Power Betfair between 2018 and 2020.

Harrington said of today’s announcement: “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. 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.

“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. We remain confident that we are well placed to benefit from share gains given our position as the largest scale operator in the UK.”

As well as Paddy Power, Flutter operates Betfair and Sky Betting & Gaming in the UK. FanDuel in the US has been its main driver in recent years, but despite the current headwinds, the UK and Ireland business has continued to grow. UK and Ireland revenue increased by 4 per cent year-on-year to $971m during the second quarter of 2026. Globally, the company reported a $299m pre-tax loss for the three months to June compared to a $205m profit in the same period last year, although sales rose 3 per cent to $4.3bn.

However, Flutter, which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2024, previously estimated that the tax increases would cost the company around $540m in 2027. The group said it planned to offset part of that impact through first-order mitigation measures worth $201m.

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

FAQs

Why is Flutter Entertainment cutting jobs?
Flutter says it needs to reduce costs due to the increases in UK Remote Gaming Duty from April 2026 and General Betting Duty from April 2027.

How many jobs will be affected by Flutter’s restructuring?
Up to 1,400 roles could be cut across the UK, Ireland and support hubs in Portugal and Romania, with around 300 roles in Cluj-Napoca expected to be impacted.

Which Flutter brands could be affected by the company’s restructuring?
Flutter’s UK-facing brands include Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Betting & Gaming. The company has already announced plans to close around 100 Paddy Power betting shops as retail betting declines.