Gambling giant Entain has said annual losses widened after booking an impairment charge following tax increases announced in the Budget.
The Ladbrokes owner said it had taken a £488million non-cash impairment charge, as annual losses jumped from £461million to £680.5million.
The gambling industry has warned that higher taxes, which will be implemented from April, will add to costs and could lead to job losses.
Rachel Reeves increased taxes on online gaming, such as casino games and slots, to 40 per cent from 21 per cent and on sports betting to 25 per cent from 15 per cent.
Chief executive Stella David said the ‘extremely disappointing decision’ to ‘dramatically’ increase taxes would ‘likely generate lower tax revenues’ and damage the industry.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) this week said that it expects tax receipts from gambling increase by 4.1 per cent to £3.8billion this year.
Entain, which owns the Ladbrokes, Coral and Partypoker brands, warned of tax impact
It will then rise to £6billion by 2030/31, two-thirds of which will come from the changes announced in the Budget.
Last week, Paddy Power owner Flutter said that the tax changes were leading to slower growth in its UK business amid an overall slowdown in sales.
Entain, which previously said it expects the tax changes to cost £200million, said it was among a handful of operators able to digest the ‘dramatic increase in taxes’ and believes, in time, it will be a ‘significant strategic opportunity’.
It previously said it expected to mitigate about 25 per cent of the impact of the levies through measures, which included a reduction in marketing and promotion costs.
It said it now expects to offset over 50 per cent of the taxes from 2027.
Entainsaid total group gaming revenue rose 7 per cent, driven by its joint venture with BetMGM, while underlying group earnings rose 8 per cent, beating expectations.
Despite the looming threat of higher taxes, Entain reaffirmed confidence in generating £500million annual adjusted cashflow from 2028.
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