Ladbrokes owner Entain pays back some furlough after protest

Entain, the gaming giant which owns Ladbrokes, is to pay back ₤ 44m of the furlough cash it claimed during the pandemic, but keep ₤ 57.5 m.

Carolyn Harris MP called it "absolutely outrageous" that Entain was not repaying all of it, regardless of skyrocketing earnings.

The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax revenue in 2021, up 125% on the year before.

It said the furlough scheme had actually assisted to safeguard 14,000 tasks, and a "more certain medium-term outlook" made the partial payment possible.

Entain has around 3,000 betting shops in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it had to close for large parts of 2020 and 2021 because of coronavirus restrictions.

However, punters did not stop betting, they just moved online. Entain's online organization grew quickly, and helping to press the yohaig code group's profits up 8% in 2015.

In reaction to a BBC Newspaper article in January, MPs contacted Entain to pay back the yohaig code cash it had actually received under the furlough plan, with previous Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the company should "right away hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer".

Entain has stated formerly that the circumstance was "under review". On Thursday, it announced that it would return the ₤ 44m it claimed in 2021, but keep the ₤ 57.5 m it claimed in 2020.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said; "Given that this promotion code company made numerous millions of pounds in earnings in 2015 straight from bettors who lost money, it is definitely shameful that they have also taken from taxpayers, which they have not paid back the complete furlough quantity."

Entain said in a statement: "The scheme was a practical and highly bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that assisted us, as one of the nation's biggest merchants, to preserve the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail colleagues on full pay.

"We have actually kept the circumstance under review given that we first utilized the plan and are delighted to be in a position to repay these monies."

Among Entain's rivals, William Hill, also had to close its betting stores, but it returned the ₤ 24.5 m furlough it claimed in 2020, and took no more, pointing out the "strength of the post-lockdown healing".

Bookmakers Betfred claimed a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m from the furlough throughout the pandemic, despite making ₤ 205m earnings in their most current accounts.

The BBC has asked Betfred for a remark in response to Entain's relocation.

In January, a spokesperson for the company stated: "Thanks to the government's Job Retention [furlough] Scheme we have not had to make a single redundancy due to the pandemic and we will continue to buy our stores on the High Street."

Ladbrokes ₤ 102m furlough claim in spite of online lift