Bet365 has announced plans to eliminate approximately 340 positions in response to heightened regulatory and tax-related expenses. This reduction accounts for around 3% of the company’s overall workforce and will affect offices located in Stoke-on-Trent, Malta, and Gibraltar.
The operator indicated that the move stems from a "highly competitive trading environment" along with rising costs associated with regulations and taxes. A spokesperson for Bet365 emphasized the company’s efforts to mitigate the impact on employees.
"We are committed to minimizing the impact on our people and are exploring all avenues to reduce the number of redundancies," the spokesperson stated. They also mentioned initiating a program for voluntary redundancies as a first measure.
Employees affected have already been notified and are receiving full support during this challenging time. "Our colleagues are our priority. We understand the concerns many will have," the spokesperson added.
The gambling sector in the UK has been facing significant pressure due to tax increases, particularly since the UK government nearly doubled the remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% on April 1 of this year. Furthermore, a new remote betting duty scheduled to take effect in April 2027 will raise the effective tax rate for all sports betting products—excluding horse racing—from 15% to 25%.
In light of these tax hikes, several operators have opted to close retail locations. Earlier this year, William Hill announced the permanent closure of about 200 of its UK retail shops, which represents roughly 15% of Evoke's retail estate. In a similar vein, Betfred recently revealed plans to close 132 of its betting shops across the UK, resulting in a workforce reduction of over 600 employees.
Betfred CEO Jo Whittaker remarked, "We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes, and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice."
