26th Nov 2025 21:38
(Alliance News) - Entain PLC on Wednesday said it expects an earnings hit of GBP100 million and GBP150 million in 2026 and 2027 from the gambling duty changes outlined in the budget.
The Isle of Man-based sports betting and gaming operator, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, said it was "disappointed" by the increases to UK gambling taxes.
Entain fears the tax changes will see regulated operators limited to providing a "less attractive and lower quality" customer offering compared to the unlicensed and untaxed black market.
"These disproportionate tax increases will have a detrimental impact on the economic contribution of the gambling industry, put jobs at risk, reduce funding for sports, and benefit the black market," the firm said in a statement.
Entain estimates the changes to remote gaming duty and general betting duty will cost its UK&I online business around GBP200 million, before any mitigations.
Entain expects to mitigate around 25% of this impact through actions including reducing marketing and promotions, commencing immediately alongside the implementation of the tax changes.
This equates to an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation impact of around GBP100 million in financial 2026, which Entain said was 8% of the total Ebitda consensus, rising to GBP150 million from 2027.
In 2024, Entain reported Ebitda of GBP1.09 billion.
In addition, "as a high-quality scale operator, Entain anticipates benefiting from capturing market share as others are now forced to exit the UK market."
Entain said it is "well positioned to absorb such regulatory and tax changes whilst continuing to deliver sustainable growth."
Chief Executive Stella David commented: "We are deeply disappointed by today's decision to punitively increase UK gambling taxes, putting at risk an industry which already contributes GBP7 billion annually to the UK economy and supports over 100,000 jobs across the country.
"Disproportionately increasing gambling taxes will not only have a detrimental impact on our industry but also heightens the risk for customers. As seen in other countries, punitive tax increases often lead to lower tax revenues overall, whilst also driving players to illegal, unregulated operators with no player protections.
"The government must now urgently tackle the black market and the consequences of today's decision."
Shares in Entain closed 5.0% higher at 784.10 each in London on Thursday.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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