Paddy Power owner Flutter to cut 240 Irish jobs at Irish head office

Paddy Power owner Flutter will cut 240 jobs from its Irish head office as it grapples with rising British betting taxes.The group said on Tuesday that it planned to cut around 1,400 jobs in its UK and Ireland division to counter the impact of British government tax rises set to cost it $540 million (€481 million).Around 240 of those jobs will be lost in its Dublin office, while the group will also cut workforce numbers in the UK and in various centres around Europe, according to sources familiar with the group.Flutter did not comment on the numbers that will be lost in each location.However an industry source estimated that more than 500 jobs could go in the UK, with the remaining cuts in Porto, Portugal, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Malta and Gibraltar, which service the UK and Ireland division.Gaming and betting duty hikes announced by Britain’s Labour government will cost Flutter’s UK and Ireland unit $540 million this year, the group has already confirmed.Its business in the Republic, which includes bookmaker Paddy Power, is hit as it forms part of the UK and Ireland division. UK and Ireland chief executive Kevin Harrington said the group was not able to “fully absorb” the impact without cutting costs.[ Paddy Power’s long goodbye from betting shops acceleratesOpens in new window ]Plans announced in last year’s UK autumn budget saw the rate of remote gaming duty – the tax on online casino games and slots – increase from 21 per cent to 40 per cent earlier this year.Firms will also see a new 25 per cent rate of general betting duty for online bets from April next year, up from 15 per cent, as part of the budget changes.It comes amid speculation that UK prime minister Andy Burnham’s government could increase the rate of machine games duty, which is the tax on fruit machines, roulette machines and other slot machines, at the next budget later this month.Microsoft president Brad Smith: Ireland is “well-positioned for future of AI”Flutter said its restructuring plan is likely to cost between $80 million (€71 million) and $90 million. Harrington said: “The material increase in betting and gaming duties announced in the UK budget last year has fundamentally changed the economic model of the regulated betting and gaming industry in the UK while helping to fuel the unlicensed, unregulated market.“As we warned a year ago, we cannot fully absorb a rise of this magnitude without reducing our fixed cost base and therefore must restructure our business so that we can best position ourselves for the future.“We remain confident that we are well placed to benefit from share gains given our position as the largest scale operator in the UK.” – Additional reporting: PA