# Flutter to cut 1,400 jobs blaming tax rises

> Paddy Power owner says betting duty increases force restructuring across UK and Ireland offices.
- Title: Flutter to cut 1,400 jobs blaming tax rises · the Guardian
- Summary: Paddy Power owner says betting duty increases force restructuring across UK and Ireland offices. Flutter Entertainment is cutting up to 1,400 jobs, over ten…
- Keywords: flutter entertainment, paddy power, sky bet, job cuts, betting duty, rachel reeves, john healey, uk gambling, machine games duty, news, world, Flutter
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/20/paddy-power-owner-flutter-tax-rises-jobs-cuts-gambling
- Published: 2026-10-20T14:24:36+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: flutter entertainment, paddy power, sky bet, job cuts, betting duty, rachel reeves, john healey, uk gambling, machine games duty, news, world
## Flutter announces major restructure
Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power and Sky Bet, revealed plans on Tuesday to cut up to one thousand four hundred jobs across its UK and Ireland division.
## Over ten percent of workforce at risk
Flutter employs eight thousand nine hundred sixty people in its UK and Ireland domestic market. More than ten percent of that workforce could lose their jobs in the restructure.
## Offices across multiple countries affected
Redundancies will hit staff in Leeds, Dublin and Sunderland, with additional cuts expected in Porto in Portugal and Cluj-Napoca in Romania.
## Flutter blames duty increases
Flutter pinned blame on the material increase in gaming duties announced by Rachel Reeves in the two thousand twenty-five autumn budget. Remote gaming duty rose from twenty-one percent to forty percent.

> 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
## Online sports betting duty also raised
Rachel Reeves also raised duty on online sports bets from fifteen percent to twenty-five percent in the two thousand twenty-five autumn budget.
## Debate over tax versus strategy
Flutter's announcement will heat up debate over whether tax rises are wholly to blame for job losses or whether companies are using government policy as cover for strategic cost-cutting.
## Industry warns of further contraction
Leading gambling industry figures have warned John Healey to expect further contraction among major operators if he increases machine games duty.The Social Market Foundation has called for doubling it from twenty percent to forty percent.
## Key takeaway

Flutter Entertainment is cutting up to 1,400 jobs, over ten percent of its UK and Ireland workforce, citing tax rises on betting and gaming duties announced in the 2025 autumn budget.