Entain, the gambling giant behind Ladbrokes and Coral, is consulting on cutting around 400 customer-service roles, mainly in the UK, out of a total of around 2,000, after already shedding 500 jobs this year. The company warned Andy Burnham that a tax raid on the sector could lead to more than 1,000 betting-shop closures. In an open letter, Entain chief executive Stella David said doubling the rate of machine games duty would land the company with an additional £100m annual bill, and cited independent modelling from EY indicating that a 40pc MGD rate could lead to up to 1,470 betting shop closures and 15,900 job losses, ultimately resulting in a net loss to the Exchequer of around £120m. Burnham and his Chancellor, John Healey, are understood to believe slot machine venues open 24 hours a day are wrecking lives and high streets. The warning comes as inflation-busting minimum wage rises and a £26bn National Insurance tax raid on employers have been blamed for an economy-wide slowdown in hiring, with 145,000 fewer people employed on payroll in August compared with a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Entain PLCEntain warns a potential doubling of machine games duty could cost £100m annually and force up to 1,470 betting-shop closures.
