Flutter to cut up to 1,400 UK and Irish jobs, blaming higher gambling taxes

Summary

Flutter Entertainment, the group behind Paddy Power and Sky Bet, plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs in its UK and Ireland division, affecting staff in Leeds, Dublin and Sunderland, with redundancies also expected at offices in Porto, Portugal and Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The company revealed the restructuring on Tuesday and blames a material increase in betting and gaming duties, which it links to tax rises imposed by the government in last year's Budget. The Financial Times reports that more than 1,000 jobs will go, about 15% of the UK and Irish workforce, and the Guardian reports that Flutter says one in 10 UK and Ireland workers is at risk of redundancy.

Timeline

1. BBC

   20 Oct 2026, 12:26 UTCSource ↗

   The BBC reports that Paddy Power is cutting 1,400 jobs and blames tax rises on betting, pointing to increases the government made to online casino and sports betting taxes in last year's Budget.

2. Financial Times

   20 Oct 2026, 12:52 UTCSource ↗

   The Financial Times reports that Flutter, the group behind Paddy Power, will cut more than 1,000 jobs, about 15% of its UK and Irish workforce, and blames higher taxes levied on the industry.

3. The Guardian

   20 Oct 2026, 14:24 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that Flutter, owner of Paddy Power, has announced up to 1,400 job cuts, blaming tax rises imposed by the government and saying one in 10 UK and Ireland workers is at risk of redundancy.