Flutter reviews up to 100 Paddy Power shops

• Flutter Entertainment is reviewing the potential closure of up to 100 Paddy Power shops across the UK and Ireland.
• The review could put up to 400 jobs at risk, against a current estate of 506 shops.
• Flutter points to rising costs and higher gambling taxes as pressures behind the review.

Flutter Entertainment is reviewing the potential closure of up to 100 Paddy Power betting shops across the UK and Ireland, a review announced on 3 September 2026 that could put up to 400 jobs at risk.

Paddy Power currently operates 506 betting shops across both markets. Flutter said the review reflects rising operating costs and the impact of higher gambling taxes, among other pressures on its high street business.

Second time around

Paddy Power currently runs 506 betting shops across the UK and Ireland. Flutter said affected employees would be offered redeployment where possible, with consultation to continue as the review progresses.

A spokesperson for Flutter UK and Ireland said:

“We are incredibly proud of our high street estate, and it remains a key part of our business in communities across the UK and Ireland.”

The operator has linked the review to a mix of pressures: rising energy costs, rents and business rates, competition on the high street, a continuing shift to online betting, and higher gambling taxes introduced in the UK’s November 2025 Budget.

This is not Paddy Power’s first cut. Flutter announced the closure of 57 betting shops in UK and Ireland in October 2025, comprising 28 in the Republic of Ireland, one in Northern Ireland and 28 in Great Britain. That round put around 247 jobs at risk.

If all of the newly proposed closures proceed, Flutter’s Paddy Power estate would have been reduced by up to 157 shops in less than 12 months.

High street in retreat

Rival operators are making similar moves. Betfred has started a consultation on plans to close 132 shops and put more than 600 jobs at risk, citing higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation and rising gambling taxes.

Evoke, owner of William Hill, confirmed the closure of around 270 shops after reporting a pre-tax loss of £549.1 million for 2025, more than double the previous year’s £220.9 million. Evoke attributed the wider loss to a £440.3 million impairment charge alongside higher UK duty costs, with the shop closures beginning in May 2026.

Flutter’s own tax response points to pressure building elsewhere in the business. The UK’s November 2025 Budget raised the duty on iGaming from 21% to 40%, effective from April 2026, with a new 25% duty on online sports betting, excluding horseracing, following from April 2027.

Both changes apply to online betting and gaming rather than retail shops directly, though Flutter has cited the wider tax burden as one factor behind the Paddy Power review.

Flutter estimated the adjusted EBITDA impact of the online tax changes at around $320 million for 2026 alone, before any mitigation.

New boss, old problems

The review lands as Flutter deals with pressure at group level too. The operator posted a $296 million net loss in the second quarter of 2026, against a $37 million profit a year earlier, even as UK and Ireland revenue grew 4% to $971 million.

Peter Jackson will step down as group chief executive and from the board on 30 September 2026, remaining as an adviser through the end of the year. Dan Taylor, currently chief executive of Flutter’s International division, becomes group chief executive on 1 October 2026.

Retail contraction now stretches across three of the UK’s largest bookmakers within a single year, and Paddy Power’s review adds another name to that list. How many of the 100 shops ultimately close will depend on how far Flutter can offset rising costs elsewhere in the business, and how much further pressure the sector absorbs before the next Budget.