Flutter to give staff £14m in bonuses

The gambling giant has announced a bonus to thank staff for helping the company through the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

UK.- Flutter Entertainment has announced it will give 14,000 members of its staff a £1,000 bonus for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The group, which owns Paddy Power gaming company, reported losses of 70 per cent in profits after major sports events were cancelled after the outbreak of Covid-19 last year.

CEO Peter Jackson said: “Perhaps we are all bookmakers at heart and there is a degree of risk-taking.”

Meanwhile, Jackson criticised the expected ban on gambling sponsorship in sport in the UK, saying it would seriously hamper the sports betting industry and the sports clubs themselves.

He told the Sunday Telegraph: “If gambling is not allowed to continue its association with sports, because that is what the government decides, then I think that there would need to be a good transition period.

“I don’t think that the switch would be an easy one because the gambling industry is a source of revenue for the sector. Many of these sports are saying: ‘Now’s a really difficult time for us because we have lost all gate receipts – please don’t make life harder for us.’ ”

“But as we have all shown over the past 12 months,  people are very adaptable and sports could get there with enough notice.”