Flutter Cuts Up to 1,400 Paddy Power Jobs Over UK Betting Tax Rises

By Grace Kim

Flutter will cut up to 1,400 jobs at Paddy Power and blames betting tax rises the UK government imposed in last November's Budget. That's roughly one in six of the company's 9,000 workers across the UK and Ireland.

The affected staff include employees based in the UK and Ireland, plus British and Irish workers at Flutter's sites in Portugal and Romania. The company has not disclosed which roles are at risk.

What triggered the cuts?

The government raised taxes on online casino and sports betting in the Budget last November, with horse racing exempted from the increase. Flutter says that single fiscal move forced its hand.

Kevin Harrington, chief executive of Flutter's UK and Ireland business, said the rise had "fundamentally changed" the economic model of the UK betting and gaming industry. He also argued it had helped "fuel the unlicensed, unregulated market."

"We continue to expect these tax increases to have a very significant impact on the overall market," Flutter said on Tuesday.

That's the company on record, twice in two days of headlines, warning of market-wide damage — not just damage to its own book.

How big is the restructuring?

The numbers frame the scale. Flutter employs 28,500 people worldwide. Of those, 9,000 work in the UK and Ireland. Cutting up to 1,400 jobs means the restructuring touches about 15% of that UK and Ireland headcount.

Harrington did not soften the logic behind the move. "As we warned a year ago, we cannot fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base and therefore must restructure our business so that we can best position ourselves for the future," he said.

In plain words: Flutter told the government a year ago this was coming, and now it's executing.

Why does the London exit matter?

The job cuts land months after another milestone. Flutter delisted from the London Stock Exchange in August, a blow to the UK, with its shares now traded solely in New York.

Put the two together and the pattern is clear: fewer jobs in the UK and Ireland, no listing in London, and a primary market presence in New York. The company that owns Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair is steadily shifting its center of gravity westward.

The takeaway in one line: a tax rise designed in Westminster has produced 1,400 at-risk jobs on Flutter's ledger — and the company says the wider licensed market will feel it too.