Flutter Proposes Up to 1,400 Job Cuts as UK Gambling Tax Rises Bite

October 26, 2026

Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair owner Flutter has proposed up to 1,400 redundancies in its UK and Ireland division, blaming steep rises in British online gambling duties that will cost it $540m in 2027.

The bill for Britain's gambling tax rises is now being paid in jobs. Flutter Entertainment, the group behind Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair, has proposed up to 1,400 redundancies in its UK and Ireland division. The company says it simply cannot absorb the sharp increase in online gambling duties without cutting its fixed costs.

Up to one in six UK & Ireland jobs at risk

The proposal is large by any standard. Flutter's UK and Ireland business employs around 9,000 people, so up to 1,400 job losses would affect roughly 15 per cent of the division. Across the whole group, which employs about 28,500 people worldwide, it is one of the biggest single restructuring moves in the company's recent history.

Staff began receiving notifications in the week of October 20. The cuts are not limited to Britain. Alongside the main offices in Leeds, home of Sky Bet, and Dublin, home of Paddy Power, employees who serve the UK and Ireland division from Flutter's technology and operations hubs in Porto, Portugal, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania, could also be affected.

Nothing is final yet. The redundancies remain subject to a formal consultation, and Flutter says that process will decide both the final number of roles that go and where they are cut.

The tax rises behind the decision

The trigger is the package of gambling tax changes announced in the UK's Autumn Budget in November 2025. It hit online operators on two fronts, one already in force and one still to come:

Almost doubling the duty on online casino profits has already changed the economics of the UK market. As we reported when the UK doubled its online gambling tax and analysts still warned of a 12% drop, the biggest operators initially tried to play down the impact. Flutter's latest move shows the real cost is now arriving.

$540 million in the firing line

Flutter has put a number on the damage. It expects the tax changes to cut its adjusted EBITDA by $540 million in 2027, before any action to soften the blow. The measures it has identified so far are expected to recover about $201 million of that, leaving a large gap still to close.

The company describes the restructuring as part of its initial cost response, which suggests more steps could follow. Flutter's second strategy is to keep investing in its products and customer offer while rivals cut back. Every operator in Britain faces the same higher duties, and Flutter believes that by holding its nerve it can win market share from smaller competitors that are forced to retreat.

The cost of cutting costs

Restructuring will not come cheap. Flutter expects to spend $80 million to $90 million on the programme during the fourth quarter. That money is not a surprise to investors: it was already built into the revised guidance Flutter issued alongside its second-quarter results, when the group raised its forecast for restructuring, transaction and integration costs to $500 million.

Those second-quarter numbers explain the urgency. Group revenue rose 3% to $4.33 billion, but higher UK taxes, heavy investment in its US brand FanDuel and World Cup marketing pushed Flutter to a net loss of $296 million, compared with a profit a year earlier. The company also cut its full-year guidance. A leadership change has followed too, with Dan Taylor taking over as group chief executive from Peter Jackson on October 1.

Not the first warning sign

The job cuts follow earlier signs of pressure in Flutter's British and Irish business. In September, the group confirmed that up to 100 Paddy Power shops were under review, putting around 400 retail jobs at risk. The new proposal goes much further, reaching into head office, technology and operations teams.

Flutter is not alone either. Rival Evoke, owner of William Hill and 888, has blamed the same tax rises for closing hundreds of William Hill betting shops this year. Across the sector, the message is the same: the Treasury's extra take is being funded partly through jobs and closures.

What it means for players and the market

For staff: The consultation will decide who goes, but Leeds and Dublin, the historic homes of Sky Bet and Paddy Power, are likely to feel the impact most. Overseas hubs in Portugal and Romania show that even roles outside the UK are being reviewed.

For players: Flutter says it wants to protect investment in its products, so customers may not see an immediate change in apps or markets. However, higher taxes usually find their way to players over time, through less generous promotions, tighter odds or reduced payouts on casino games.

For smaller operators: If Flutter's market-share strategy works, the biggest losers may be mid-sized brands that cannot afford to keep spending. Consolidation and exits from the UK market could follow, leaving fewer licensed choices.

For investors: The cuts show that Flutter is acting early rather than waiting for the 2027 betting duty to land. With the restructuring cost already in its guidance, the focus now shifts to how much of the remaining $540 million gap new chief executive Dan Taylor can close, and how quickly.

For the regulated market: Critics of the tax rises warn that weaker licensed operators could push some players toward unlicensed sites. As our look at the report putting the illegal gambling market at $50 billion showed, the black market is always ready to fill any gap.

Written by Oliver Bennett

Gambling involves risk and isn’t suitable for everyone — please gamble responsibly, set your limits, and if it stops being fun, take a break.