Flutter Reviews 100 Paddy Power Shops Over Gaming Tax Rise

Flutter Entertainment has confirmed that up to 100 Paddy Power betting shops across the UK are “under review”, with roughly 400 jobs potentially at risk of redundancy. The move, first reported by the Business Post and confirmed by Flutter on 3 September, is the latest response by the FTSE-listed operator to April’s near-doubling of remote gaming duty (RGD), the tax charged on online casino and betting revenue.

What’s actually changed

Flutter confirmed that up to 100 Paddy Power shops are “under review” and that approximately 400 roles could potentially be put at risk of redundancy as it implements cost-cutting measures to mitigate the near-doubling of RGD
.
Colleagues affected by the review would be offered redeployment opportunities where possible, the company said
.

The tax at the centre of this is remote gaming duty, which is charged on the profits operators make from online casino games.
RGD doubled from 21% to 40% from 1 April 2026
, and
betting shops themselves did not get a direct tax rise, with the increase falling instead on online casino and betting revenue
. Even so, operators have been shifting costs across their businesses, including their retail estates, to absorb the hit.

This is not Flutter’s first move of this kind.
The confirmation follows the revelation last year that the company would close 57 shops across Britain and Ireland with up to 247 retail jobs at risk, as Remote Gaming Duty doubled from 21% to 40% from 1 April 2026
. Earlier this year the company also restructured Paddy Power’s marketing department, again citing the tax rise as the driver. The latest review comes shortly after Flutter reported a swing from a $37 million profit to a $296 million loss year-on-year for the second quarter, and confirmed that chief executive Peter Jackson is being replaced by Dan Taylor.

What it means for you

If you use a Paddy Power shop, some branches near you may close over the coming months, and you may be directed towards the operator’s online and app-based services instead. That shift matters for player protection because the safeguards attached to your account do not change depending on the channel: UK Gambling Commission rules on age verification, self-exclusion through GamStop, deposit limits and the online slot stake limits still apply in full whether you play in a shop or online.

Retail closures can also affect players who prefer face-to-face interaction, including those who use shop staff to set spending limits or ask about self-exclusion. If your local shop closes, it is worth checking that any self-exclusion or account restrictions you have in place carry over correctly to Paddy Power’s online platform, and that you are still registered with GamStop if that is part of your safer-gambling plan.

The bigger picture

Flutter is not alone in trimming its high-street presence since the RGD rise took effect.
With UK betting shop numbers down 30% since 2019, rising taxes and operational costs are forcing operators like Flutter to review their high-street estates
, and
rival Betfred has since confirmed it is closing 132 of its own shops
. Evoke, the owner of William Hill, has also raised the prospect of further shop closures depending on the shape of gambling taxation.

The wider trend reflects the pressure UK operators say they are under from a combination of the RGD increase, the statutory levy that came into force in April 2025, and continuing debate over the Gambling Act White Paper reforms. Operators have repeatedly argued that squeezing margins too hard risks pushing customers towards unlicensed, offshore sites that offer none of the protections attached to a UK licence. For players, the practical takeaway is that the safer-gambling framework – deposit limits, GamStop, stake limits and affordability checks – remains tied to your account with a licensed operator, regardless of how many shops that operator keeps on the high street.

Sources

• SBC News – Flutter considers closing up to 100 Paddy Power shops
• Gambling.com – Online Tax Hikes Drive Further UK Betting Shop Closures
• SBC News – Marketing redundancies on the table at tax burdened Paddy Power
• Yogonet – Flutter to shut 57 Paddy Power betting shops in UK and Ireland after retail review