‘Punitive’ tax raid on gambling will cost jobs, warns Entain boss

The chief executive of one of Britain’s biggest gambling companies has warned the government that any further “punitive” tax increases on the industry will put thousands of jobs on the line.
Gavin Isaacs, the new boss of the Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain, said ministers must be “mindful” of the impact that a speculated £3 billion tax raid would have both on the sector and the wider economy.
Isaacs, an industry veteran who was appointed in July to replace Jette Nygaard-Andersen, said he was aware of reports from “non-government sources” that Rachel Reeves was facing pressure to raise duty on betting to help plug a £22 billion shortfall in public finances.
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“We’d ask ministers to be mindful that further punitive tax increases would have a material detrimental impact on the economic contribution of the gambling industry, put thousands of jobs at risk, reduce funding for horseracing and other sports, as well as benefiting the black market,” he said.
Entain was among a clutch of British bookmakers caught up in a market sell-off earlier this week as investors reacted to the rumoured clampdown, which wiped billions from the collective value of the industry’s biggest players.
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has since stepped in to attempt to reassure the industry, telling the Commons on Thursday that the government was aware of its value and importance “not just to the UK economy, but the joy it brings to many people, and the employment prospects that it offers to people in every nation and region of the UK”.
Isaacs’ intervention came as Entain told shareholders that it expects to deliver core profits at the upper end of guidance following a strong third quarter boosted by the Euro 2024 football tournament and NFL matches.
A boost from the UK and Ireland business, which returned to year-on-year growth “sooner than expected”, contributed to the better-than-expected performance in the three months to the end of September.
Net gaming revenues rose 8 per cent across the group in the quarter. In the UK, net gaming revenues grew by 2 per cent as online trade offset a decrease from its betting shops.
Roberta Ciaccia, an analyst at Investec, said that the numbers suggested that Entain, whose performance had been criticised by activist investors before Nygaard-Andersen’s abrupt departure last December, “may have turned a corner”.
Bosses now expect mid single-digit growth in online net gaming revenues for the year, lifting adjusted underlying earnings towards the upper end of its guidance range of between £1.04 billion and £1.09 billion.
Isaacs, who formally took over last month, said his first few weeks in the job had reaffirmed his view that “this is a very good business operating in a highly attractive global industry”. He added: “Entain has great brands, an enviably diverse global portfolio and is bursting with talent, ambition and opportunities.”
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Entain is one of the world’s biggest sports betting and gaming groups. Its sports betting brands include BetCity, Bwin, Coral, Eurobet, Ladbrokes and Crystalbet, while gaming brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, Ninja Casino, Partypoker and Partycasino. It also operates TAB NZ under a strategic partnership and has BetMGM, its joint venture in the United States.
Entain’s shares, which have lost about a quarter of their value since the start of the year, rose 36p, or 5.1 per cent, to 748p during afternoon trading.