Paddy Power owner to axe 1400 jobs after UK tax hikes

Paddy Power owner Flutter is to axe about 1400 jobs.

The plans are set to impact workers in Leeds and Dublin.

The firm says the move – tipped to cost as much as £67.5 million – will help offset a “significant increase” in UK gaming taxes from last year’s Autumn Budget.

It is understood the move will affect about 15 per cent of workers in the UK and Ireland, where Flutter employs around 9000 staff, with further workers set to be hit at Portuguese and Romanian hubs.

Plans announced in last year’s Budget saw the rate of remote gaming duty – the tax on online casino games and slots – increase from 21 per cent to 40 per cent earlier this year.

Firms will also see a new 25 per cent rate of general betting duty for online bets from April next year.

Kevin Harrington, Flutter UK and Ireland chief executive, said: “The material increase in betting and gaming duties 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.

“We therefore must restructure our business so we can best position ourselves for the future.”

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