Bookmakers Entain PLC (LSE:ENT), Evoke PLC (LSE:EVOK) and Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR, NYSE:FLUT) have warned investors of "highly damaging" consequences from the new UK gambling tax measures in yesterday's Budget, which are set to come into force from next April.
Under changes announced in the autumn Budget, online gaming duty will rise to 40% from April 2026, and a new 25% remote betting duty will apply to online sports betting, excluding horse-racing, from April 2027.
Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter said it expects an adjusted EBITDA impact of approximately $320 million in 2026 and $540 million in 2027 before mitigation.
Entain, which owns a stable of brands including Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet, estimated an annualised impact of around £200 million, with about £100 million expected in 2026.
William Hill owner Evoke predicted an annualised increase in duty costs of £125-135 million, with £80 million of that in 2026.
The smallest of the trio said it would withdraw its medium-term financial targets and begin immediate execution of mitigation plans, including reduced UK investment and likely job cuts.
FTSE 250-listed Rank Group PLC (LSE:RNK), which owns Grosvenor casinos and Gala bingo halls, said it expected an annualised reduction of circa £40 million on operating profit before mitigation, driven by a £46 million increase in digital gaming duty partially offset by the abolition of bingo duty.
It said the impact of the 4.1% increase to the hourly minimum wage represented an additional cost impact of roughly £5.5 million, along with other changes to employment taxes, which were within its expectations.
Evoke chief executive Per Widerström said the Budget measures would “result in thousands of industry-wide job losses and increase customer activity on the unregulated black-market.”
He added: "These proposals are ill-thought-through, counterproductive, and highly damaging."
Flutter’s UK chief executive, Kevin Harrington, said: “These changes will hand a big win to illegal, unlicensed gambling operators. At 40%, the UK’s remote gaming duty is now above countries such as the Netherlands, where a recent tax increase saw a rise in illegal gambling.”
Entain chief executive Stella David said the measures would “put at risk an industry which already contributes £7 billion annually to the UK economy,” also arguing that increased black-market activity would lower overall tax revenue.
All three operators indicated they would implement cost-saving measures, including marketing reductions, while also highlighting their scale and overseas operations as a buffer.
Both Flutter and Entain said they expect to benefit from potential market share gains as smaller operators are forced out.