Ladbrokes owner Entain says gambling tax hikes will shrink regulated market

The owner of betting shops Ladbrokes and Coral has said gambling tax increases will damage the industry and “open the door” to black market operators, as it revealed a £488 million charge related to the upcoming duty changes.

Entain said it was able to weather the cost rises but other smaller players may disappear from the market as a result.

The sports betting giant reported a loss after tax of £680.5 million for 2025, widening from the £461 million reported the prior year.

Entain said this was driven by a £488 million impairment charge related to the UK tax rises, which were announced in the autumn budget and are due to come into effect from April.

Rachel Reeves announced in November that remote online gaming duty will rise from 21% to 40%, while online sports betting – excluding horse racing – will increase from 15% to 25%.

Ms Reeves said remote gaming was associated with the “highest levels of harm” across the sector, which is why she was hiking duties, while in-person gambling and horse racing taxes were left alone and bingo duty will be abolished.

The reforms are expected to raise an estimated £1.1 billion for the Government by 2029-30.

Entain’s chief executive Stella David said it was an “extremely disappointing decision” from the Government, adding: “Not only will this likely generate lower tax revenues, it will damage our industry, stifle growth and open the door to those unlicensed operators”.

“One of our asks of the Government and the regulator is to work hard with the industry to stop the rise of the black market,” she told the Press Association.

But she added that Entain was likely to grow in the regulated market because it can “digest such a dramatic increase in taxes” while smaller players may be less able to absorb the costs.

“There will be less competitors over time… and we’ll be one of them,” she said.

Entain, which also has the BetMGM joint venture in the US, said it was aiming to mitigate about 25% of the impact of the higher taxes when they come in – rising to more than 50% from 2027.

This was being achieved by initiatives such as lowering the amount spent on third-parties such as casino content.

Ms David asserted that the company was “very committed to our retail estate” with around 2,400 betting shops getting upgraded in the UK and Ireland, but said the odd closure was “part of normal business”.

On an underlying basis, Entain’s earnings before tax, interest and other costs came in at £1.16 billion for 2025, up 7% on the prior year.

Meanwhile, the company said it was preparing for a spurt of betting activity during the men’s football Fifa World Cup tournament, which is being held in the US, Canada and South America later this year.

“The World Cup is a huge event this year. It’s more countries than ever, more matches than ever, 39 days of intense football and it’s going to be hosted in the Americas,” Ms David said.

She also said that it was catering more to “player fandom”, whereby people bet on what a player does in a match, as opposed to just the team.

Shares in Entain were up by about 5% on Thursday.