Flutter Entertainment plans to eliminate up to 1,400 positions in its UK & Ireland division as the operator responds to higher UK gambling taxes, which it expects to put significant pressure on the regulated betting market.

The restructuring, announced on Tuesday, 20 October, through an official press release will affect employees across several locations, including Leeds and Dublin, alongside staff working at the group’s international hubs in Malta, Portugal and Romania. The plans remain subject to consultation.

Flutter employs approximately 28,500 people worldwide, including around 9,000 within its UK & Ireland business. The proposed cuts would therefore affect approximately 16% of the division’s workforce.

Staff were invited to a call with senior management on Tuesday morning, with employees in Gibraltar among those informed of the changes. UK & Ireland chief executive Kevin Harrington said the company’s immediate priority was supporting those affected during the restructuring.

Higher duties drive changes to Flutter’s UK operations

Flutter said the decision forms part of its previously outlined cost-mitigation strategy following the UK government’s Autumn Budget in 2025. The tax increases have prompted operators to reconsider their cost structures as they prepare for a more demanding fiscal environment.

Harrington said: “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.” 

The company expects the restructuring to help offset the tax burden through what it describes as second-order mitigation benefits. Flutter said the changes would allow it to preserve investment in its customer offering while supporting its efforts to increase market share.

The financial implications of the new tax regime have been substantial. When the government announced the changes last year, Flutter estimated that their adjusted EBITDA impact, before mitigation, would reach approximately $320m in fiscal 2026 and $540m in fiscal 2027.

The operator had identified initial mitigation measures expected to recover $201m. The newly announced redundancies form part of the broader response to those pressures.

Flutter expects the restructuring to cost between $80m and $90m, with the expenses scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026. The costs were already included in the updated financial guidance issued alongside its second-quarter earnings update.

Further tax increases threaten the wider betting sector

Flutter’s announcement comes as UK gambling companies face further changes to taxation. Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) increased from 21% to 40% in April 2026, while General Betting Duty (GBD) is scheduled to rise from 15% to 25% in April 2027.

Additional measures could follow in Chancellor John Healey‘s autumn budget, including a potential increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD) to 40%, double its current rate. The prospect of further increases has raised concerns among licensed operators about the viability of maintaining their existing cost bases.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and gambling companies have warned that higher taxes could lead to further job losses and betting shop closures. Industry representatives have also argued that increasing the financial burden on regulated businesses could encourage customers to use unlicensed gambling platforms.

Job reductions follow leadership changes and share-price decline

The planned redundancies arrive during a difficult period for Flutter’s investors. Its share price has fallen by approximately 69% over the past year, while changes at the top of the company have added to the uncertainty surrounding its next phase.

In August, Flutter confirmed that long-serving chief executive Peter Jackson would step down and be succeeded by Dan Taylor, who previously led the UK & Ireland division. Taylor formally assumed the group CEO role at the beginning of October 2026.

The restructuring will reduce the workforce in the domestic division that Taylor previously managed, as Flutter seeks to protect profitability in a market facing higher operating costs. The company has maintained that its position as the UK’s largest-scale operator gives it an opportunity to gain market share despite the tax increases.

Its latest reported results showed that the UK & Ireland division generated revenue of £971m in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 4% year on year. Growth in iGaming revenue, which rose by 7%, offset a 2% decline in sports betting revenue.

Flutter is scheduled to publish its third-quarter 2026 results on 4 November. The update will provide investors with another view of the group’s performance following the announcement of the restructuring and the latest developments in its cost-mitigation program.