Bet365 Confirms Plans to Cut 300 UK Jobs In Latest Industry Blow

One of the UK’s most popular bookmakers has confirmed that they will cut 300 jobs from their Stoke-on-Trent headquarters.

Bet365 revealed on Tuesday that the job losses were part of necessary cutbacks in the wake of the Gambling Tax hikes.

In addition to the 300 jobs lost in the UK, a further 40 employees will be made redundant in the firm’s Malta and Gibraltar offices.

In 2026 alone, that brings the number of jobs cut from the UK gambling sector – both in operations and retail – to more than 2,000 as conditions continue to worsen for betting operators.

Gambling Tax Mitigation

According to a bet365 spokesperson, the jobs will be lost across both operations and trading, accounting for around 3% of the firm’s workforce at their Stoke HQ.

All in all, the company employs around 10,000 worldwide, although it’s not known if any more job cuts are to be made globally.

Bet365 have confirmed that they will first offer voluntary redundancy to workers in the affected departments, while ‘exploring all avenues’ to reduce the impact on their wider staff team.

A source quoted by The Sun newspaper revealed: “We are facing global headwinds which include regulatory, tax, and wider business costs. For example, the tax increases announced in last year’s Budget have had a major impact that has had to be mitigated.”

The former chancellor, Rachel Reeves, hiked Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% in her Autumn Budget; that increase came into force in April. And, as of April next year, Remote Betting Duty will rise from 15% to 25%.

More Tax Increases in November?

Although Reeves has now been replaced by John Healey, there’s a feeling that more Gambling Tax hikes could be incoming when he reveals his first Autumn Budget later this year.

Healey is a close confidante of the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who is known for his anti-gambling stance – particularly high street betting shops.

Burnham could well be influenced by the former PM, Gordon Brown, who has called for a radical overhaul of the tax paid on gaming machines within betting shops, bingo halls and the like.

Rumours suggest that the government is considering grabbing more tax from the sector via an increase in Machine Games Duty, however opponents – including Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace – have warned that more jobs will be lost if they do.

“The threat to the sector of any additional tax rises on the retail estate is truly grave and the perversity is that any increase in tax will cause further substantial closures,” Cruddace said.

Mass Betting Shop Closures

The UK’s retail betting estate has been decimated this year.

Evoke, the parent company of William Hill, has confirmed that they will close 270 betting shops over the course of 2026 – at a loss of more than 1,000 jobs.

In July, Betfred followed suit, announcing that 132 of their shops were to close with the likely loss of 600 jobs. The company founder, Fred Done, specifically referenced the Gambling Tax hikes as a primary cause.

And less than a week ago, Flutter Entertainment confirmed that they were to close a further 100 Paddy Power shops across the UK and Ireland – adding to the 57 that were shuttered at the end of 2025. More than 500 jobs are at risk.

Commenting on the mass closures, Grainne Hurst – head of industry representative body the Betting and Gaming Council – said that the job losses were ‘yet more evidence of the real-world consequences of the tax rises imposed on Britain’s betting and gaming industry.’