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Decision follows dramatic loss following highre tax despite revenue gains
UK betting company Flutter Entertainment has said it could be forced to close up to 100 Paddy Power betting shops in the UK and Ireland, with 400 jobs at risk due to tax increases.
The number equates to about a fifth of the company’s estate of betting shops. It owns 310 betting shops in the UK and 196 in Ireland. It closed 57 stores in October.
A Flutter spokesperson said: “We are incredibly proud of our high street estate, and it remains a key part of our business in communities across the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately, we have had to take the extremely difficult decision to conduct this review.”
“The high street trading environment has been challenging for a number of years given rising costs, fierce competition, economic uncertainty and the shift to online, but we also face a material impact from the higher gambling taxes announced in last year’s UK Budget. Our immediate priority at this time is to support those colleagues affected by this announcement.”
Remote gaming duty (RGD) levied on online games was doubled last year, with Flutter saying back then it expected an impact of $320m on earnings this year.
Flutter reported a loss of $296m in its second quarter from a profit of $37m a year earlier, despite revenues growing by four per cent in the UK and Ireland to $971m.
