Entain cuts 500 jobs to offset tax rise

• Entain is cutting about 500 roles, roughly 2% of its global workforce, to offset higher UK online gambling taxes.
• The Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026, with a new 25% remote betting duty following in 2027.
• Separately, Stella David has urged the Premier League to voluntarily ban unlicensed operator sponsorships ahead of a government consultation closing 9 September.

Entain is cutting about 500 roles, roughly two percent of its global workforce, to offset higher UK online gambling taxes and growing competition, including from prediction markets.

The reductions, first reported by Bloomberg on 16 July and confirmed by the company, affect corporate, product and technology teams and have already begun.

Tax bill bites

Bloomberg reported the cuts are meant to help absorb higher UK online gambling duties.

The Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026, and a new 25% remote betting duty follows on 1 April 2027, up from 15%. Bets on UK horse racing, spread betting, pool bets and self-service terminals are excluded.

Entain estimated in a statement on 26 November 2025 that the changes would add around £200 million a year, before mitigations, to its UK and Ireland online business.

The cuts follow the tax mitigation plan Stella David set out at the group’s FY25 results in March, when she said Entain had to be “fighting fit” to absorb the added tax burden.

The group has also reshaped its balance sheet alongside the cost programme. In late June it agreed to sell a 20% stake in its Central and Eastern European joint venture to EMMA Capital for around €425 million. First-quarter results in April showed online net gaming revenue up 5%, led by the UK and Ireland.

Sponsorship pressure mounts

The layoffs land the same week the Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened an eight-week consultation, on 15 July, on banning sponsorship and advertising deals between British sports bodies and operators that hold no Gambling Commission licence.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 9 September and would cover kit sponsorships, pitchside billboards and venue naming rights. The government’s preferred timeline would not bring a ban into force before August 2027, ahead of the 2027/28 season.

Entain welcomed the consultation and went further, writing to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and to David Kogan OBE, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, urging a voluntary ban ahead of the 2026/27 season rather than waiting for legislation.

It follows a campaign that already saw the operator press six Premier League clubs on their unlicensed sponsors.

Stella David, chief executive of Entain, said:

“Unlicensed gambling operators are often little more than fronts for organised crime. They target vulnerable consumers, pay no UK tax, and ignore safeguards licensed operators must provide.”

David cited analysis by the Betting and Gaming Council and the World Advertising Research Centre showing unlicensed operators are on course to account for 47.7% of UK gambling advertising spend in 2026/27.

She also pointed to H2 Gambling Capital data showing the illegal market’s turnover grew from £5 billion to £16.6 billion between 2019 and 2025.

David added that sponsorship restrictions alone will not be enough, calling for tougher action against the social media platforms, payment providers and affiliate networks that give unlicensed operators reach.

The sponsorship push extends a months-long campaign: Entain has already commissioned OSINT research mapping an illegal gambling network active during the World Cup, and a recent survey finding most UK adults cannot identify illegal betting ads on social media.

Pressure from both sides

The two moves sit either side of the same squeeze. Licensed operators are paying more into the UK Treasury at the same time as an unlicensed market, which pays nothing, expands its share of the advertising and sponsorship reaching British consumers.

For Entain, the near-term question is whether the Premier League and the Independent Football Regulator act voluntarily before the 2026/27 season, or leave the matter to a statutory ban that, on the government’s own timetable, will not take effect until August 2027.

Investors will be watching whether these cuts are enough to offset the tax bill before the second duty increase lands in 2027.