Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain to shed 500 jobs as part of 'operational efficiency' drive

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Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain is set to cut 500 jobs across the group to mitigate the impact of the tax rises announced in last year's budget.

The job losses will affect product technology and group corporate roles, the Racing Post understands, and will be across Entain's global markets, not just the UK.

The cuts represent about two per cent of Entain's 28,000-strong global workforce.

UK gambling operators were hit by a major tax increase in last November's budget when chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves nearly doubled the rate of remote gaming duty to 40 per cent, a rise that came into force at the beginning of April.

Entain chief executive Stella David

At the time Entain chief executive Stella David described the budget as "a disaster for British betting and gaming", with the company estimating the additional cost to its UK and Ireland online business would be approximately £200 million, before mitigation. 

In March, Entain said it was confident of offsetting more than half of the impact of the UK tax rises "through group-wide optimisation initiatives".

Confirming the job losses, an Entain spokesperson said: "As part of our ongoing focus on enhancing Entain’s operational efficiency and agility, we have begun implementing organisational changes which will regrettably impact a number of roles across the group over the months ahead.

"These changes will help make Entain a stronger, better business and are a further demonstration of our strategic focus on maximising shareholder value. We are consulting with all those affected to support them during this process.” 

Last month it was announced that Entain had begun a phased sale of its central and east European arm to joint venture partner EMMA Capital.

It agreed an initial sale of a 20 per cent share of the operation for about €425m with the net proceeds being used to reduce Entain's outstanding debt.

Racing has not been immune to Entain's efficiency drive, which included the termination of Coral's long-standing sponsorship at the Cheltenham Festival.

Read these next:

Entain blames 'dramatic' tax increase for shift in marketing spend away from racing as company unveils 2025 results 

Entain share price up as Ladbrokes and Coral owner 'continues to build on momentum' at start of 2026 with UK the 'standout performer' 

'Cultural phenomena' - Entain figures show the Grand National was the biggest gambling event of the year once again 

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