Entain Launches Consultation on 400 Customer Care Roles as Tax Pressures Mount

Entain has started a consultation process that could remove around 400 customer care positions worldwide, which represents one fifth of its 2,000 such roles spread across 11 countries including the UK, and the company points to rising gambling taxes as a contributing factor while it prepares for possible changes in the autumn budget.

The firm owns Ladbrokes, Coral and BetMGM, and the announcement comes weeks after it reported stronger profits, yet the consultation reflects ongoing cost pressures in a sector facing higher duties on machine games and other operations.

Details of the Proposed Reductions

Those familiar wth the process note that Entain plans to review its global customer care structure, and the 400 positions at risk form part of a wider effort to align staffing with expected tax increases that could take effect after Chancellor John Healey delivers the budget on 28 October; the cuts would affect teams handling player support, account queries and related services that currently operate from multiple locations.

Observers point out that the company employs roughly 2,000 people in these functions, so the proposed reductions equate to a significant scaling back while the remaining 1,600 roles would continue across the same international footprint.

Tax Environment Driving the Decision

Entain has linked the consultation partly to higher UK gambling taxes already in place and partly to the threat of a doubled machine games duty, or MGD, which applies to betting shops and adult gaming centres; if the rate rises sharply, the added cost could reach £100 million a year according to internal projections shared by chief executive Stella David.

She wrote directly to Prime Minister Andy Burnham to outline the potential consequences, and the letter states that a doubled MGD could trigger 1,470 shop closures across the betting sector together with 15,900 job losses industry-wide; the figures come from modelling that assumes operators pass on some of the extra burden through reduced sites and staffing.

Research on doubling machine games duty impacts shows similar patterns in earlier duty adjustments, where operators responded by consolidating outlets and trimming support functions to protect margins.

Timeline and Broader Context

The consultation began in mid-September 2026, and Entain has indicated that affected employees will receive full details through formal channels while the company explores alternatives such as redeployment where possible; the move follows several months of lobbying by the industry ahead of the October budget statement.

Betting shop operators and adult gaming centre owners have already warned that any increase in MGD would hit high-street locations hardest because those venues rely heavily on category B slot machines whose tax take would rise sharply under the proposed changes.

Entain's portfolio includes thousands of retail outlets alongside its online platforms, which means any duty increase would affect both physical and digital operations even though the customer care roles under review sit mainly in centralised teams.

Company Response and Next Steps

Spokespeople for Entain have confirmed that the consultation remains at an early stage, and they emphasise that no final decisions have been taken while discussions with employee representatives continue; the firm also continues to operate its full range of brands during the review period.

Those tracking the sector note that similar consultations have occurred in previous years when tax or regulatory costs rose, and the pattern often results in a combination of role reductions, automation investments and occasional site rationalisation rather than outright closures in every case.

Conclusion

The consultation launched by Entain therefore sits within a wider set of pressures facing UK gambling operators as the government prepares its October budget, and the outcome will depend on whether the machine games duty rate changes and by how much; employees, unions and local authorities in the 11 affected countries will monitor developments closely through the coming weeks.

Further updates are expected once the budget details become public on 28 October, at which point Entain and other operators will adjust their plans according to the final tax measures announced.