Entain, the group behind Ladbrokes and Coral, has confirmed that Entain customer care job cuts could reach around 400 roles worldwide, with a formal consultation now under way that covers staff across 11 countries, including the UK.
The company has launched the process as part of what it describes as ongoing efforts to ‘address the impact of the UK’s increased gambling taxes’. A fifth of its 2,000-strong customer care workforce is at risk, spanning operations in Austria, Bulgaria, Brazil, Gibraltar, India, Ireland, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay, as well as the UK. Entain has not disclosed how many UK roles are affected, and the consultation is set to conclude by November.
Entain customer care job cuts linked to rising tax burden
The backdrop is a series of changes to gambling taxation that have put sustained pressure on the sector’s finances. The rate of remote gaming duty (RGD) (the tax levied on online gambling operators) rose from 21% to 40% from the start of April. A new rate of general betting duty (GBD) is also due to be introduced next year. On top of that, speculation is growing that Chancellor John Healey is considering doubling machine games duty (MGD) (the levy applied to fixed-odds betting terminals and similar gaming machines) in next month’s Budget.
Entain has previously warned that new UK gambling taxes are set to have a ‘massive impact’ worth around £250 million to the business. In her letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Entain chief executive Stella David said that doubling the standard rate of MGD to 40% alone ‘would add around £100 million to the annual cost of running our UK retail business’.
David wrote: ‘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. 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.’
Sector-wide impact: shops and high-street jobs most at risk
David’s letter to the Prime Minister also cited an independent report commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council, which suggested that doubling the MGD rate could lead to up to 1,470 betting shop closures and 15,900 job losses across the sector. ‘These are not theoretical efficiencies in a financial model,’ David wrote. ‘They are people losing their jobs and communities losing long-established high-street businesses.’
Entain employs 13,000 people in the UK, including over 12,000 across its 2,300 Ladbrokes and Coral betting shops. In her letter, David highlighted the profile of the retail workforce: half are women, 52% work part-time or on flexible hours, and more than one in five (some 2,570 people) are aged under 25. The group said high-street and part-time roles would be most at risk from any further pressure on the business.
David was also careful to set limits on Entain’s position: ‘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.’
The job losses announced now come just two months after Entain reportedly confirmed 500 further jobs were being cut worldwide, affecting product technology and group corporate roles.
Entain is not alone in feeling the strain. William Hill owner Evoke said over a fifth (278) of its shops had closed in the past year, with around 200 shutting in May alone, as it moved to lower costs in response to the same tax pressures. The Prime Minister has also revealed plans to give local councils more powers to block new betting shops from opening in their communities, adding a further layer of uncertainty for the sector ahead of next month’s Budget.
