Gaming operator will shed almost a quarter of its customer care roles in the United Kingdom
Entain is the latest gaming operator to announce layoffs as part of efforts to address the impact of increased gambling taxes in the United Kingdom.
The company said Wednesday that it has begun a consultation process which could result in the removal of around 400 of its 2,000 customer care roles.
“The proposed changes are being made to ensure our business remains competitive, financially resilient, and well positioned for the future as our sector faces an increasingly challenging operating environment,” said Entain chief executive Stella David. “This decision has not been made lightly, and our immediate priority is to support those of our colleagues who may be impacted through this transition.”
In April the rate of tax on remote gambling in the UK doubled to 40 per cent, leading to thousands of job losses as operators sought to mitigate some of the impact of the increase.
Entain also warns that further increases in taxation, such as the mooted increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD), could put more than 15,000 jobs in jeopardy across the industry.
The Entain chief executive has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, warning that doubling the standard rate of MGD to 40 per cent would add around £100 million to the annual cost of running the company’s Ladbrokes and Coral retail businesses in the UK.
According to a report from EY, which was commissioned by Britain’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), a 40 per cent MGD rate could lead to up to 1,470 betting shop closures and 15,900 job losses.
“These jobs matter,” David says in her letter to the Prime Minister. “They matter particularly in communities where good local employment can be difficult to find. Half of our retail colleagues are women; 52 per cent work part-time or flexible hours; and more than one in five (2,570) are aged under 25. We have recruited 1,920 young people since 2024 alone.
“Our colleague engagement scores are above 90, and our lowest-paid colleagues earn £13 an hour, above the National Living Wage. Our colleagues are proud to work for a business that invests in its people and takes seriously its responsibility to customers.”
David concludes: “We are not asking to be insulated from taxation. Indeed, Entain is one of the UK’s top 20 taxpayers. However, this would also come on top of substantial tax increases already imposed on the sector. Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21 per cent to 40 per cent in April this year, following the 2025 Budget, and a new 25 per cent rate of General Betting Duty on most remote betting will take effect from April 2027.
“A further doubling of Machine Games Duty would therefore add another significant cost to businesses already struggling to absorb major tax increases, stacking the odds against labour-intensive high-street operators and making it harder to sustain shops, jobs and investment in local communities.”
Shares in Entain plc. (LSE:ENT) were trading 1.28 per cent lower at 491.90 pence per share, having lost more than 36 per cent of their value since the start of the year.