Flutter Entertainment-owned Paddy Power is conducting a review of its retail estate that could result in the closure of up to 100 betting shops across the UK and Ireland.
The review puts approximately 400 jobs at risk of redundancy, though Flutter has confirmed that “impacted colleagues will be offered redeployment opportunities where possible.”
The company has attributed the potential closures to a combination of rising energy costs, rents, business rates, and increased gambling taxes affecting its retail operations.
A Flutter spokesperson 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 spokesperson continued: “The high street trading environment has been challenging for a number of years given rising costs, fierce competition, economic uncertainty and the shift to online but we also face a material impact from the higher gambling taxes announced in last year’s UK budget.”
Remote gaming duty rose sharply from 21% to 40% from April 2026, with an additional increase in remote betting duty to 25% set to come into effect from April 2027.
Paddy Power currently operates 506 betting offices across the UK and Ireland, with 310 located in the UK and 196 in Ireland, employing more than 2,300 people in total.
The potential closures would represent roughly one fifth of Paddy Power’s entire retail estate, marking a significant contraction for the brand’s high street presence.
Former chancellor Rachel Reeves nearly doubled the rate of remote gaming duty in last year’s budget, which Flutter said would have a $320 million impact on its 2026 earnings before mitigation of $85 million.
David Brohan, gaming and leisure analyst with stockbrokers Goodbody, said he believed the shop closures were part of that mitigation effort, adding: “I suspect it won’t be the last of the closures as different leases expire and particularly if MGD increases in the budget.”
Paddy Power is far from alone in retreating from the high street, with Betfred, Entain, and evoke all having made similar moves in recent months.
Betfred announced in August 2026 that it would close 132 shops and cut 600 jobs, citing higher employer national insurance contributions, wage inflation, gambling tax increases, and wider economic uncertainty.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has further clouded the picture by publicly labelling betting shops as “dodgy businesses,” adding political pressure to an already difficult retail betting environment.
Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace warned that the cumulative impact of additional tax rises on betting shops could be “truly grave,” stressing that “horseracing cannot be collateral damage.”
Flutter reported full-year revenue of $16.4 billion for 2025, a 17% year-on-year rise, though net income swung from a $162 million profit in 2024 to a $407 million loss in the same period.
The group has also lowered its full-year 2026 financial guidance, cutting its expected revenue midpoint by $395 million to $17.91 billion and adjusted EBITDA by $210 million to $2.65 billion.
Flutter recently appointed current international division chief Dan Taylor as its next chief executive, with Taylor set to succeed long-serving CEO Peter Jackson from October 1, 2026.
