Ladbrokes Owner Entain Repays some Furlough After Outcry
Ladbrokes owner Entain repays some furlough after protest
Entain, the video gaming giant which owns Ladbrokes, is to repay ₤ 44m of the furlough money it declared during the pandemic, however keep ₤ 57.5 m.
Carolyn Harris MP called it "absolutely shameful" that Entain was not repaying everything, despite soaring revenues.
The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax profit in 2021, up 125% on the year before.
It said the furlough scheme had assisted to protect 14,000 jobs, and a "more certain medium-term outlook" made the partial repayment possible.
Entain has around 3,000 betting shops in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it needed to close for big parts of 2020 and 2021 because of coronavirus constraints.
However, punters did not stop wagering, they simply moved online. Entain's online business grew quickly, and helping to press the group's revenues up 8% in 2015.
In reaction to a BBC Newspaper article in January, MPs contacted Entain to pay back the cash it had received under the furlough scheme, 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 previously that the circumstance was "under review". On Thursday, it announced that it would return the ₤ 44m it declared in 2021, but keep the ₤ 57.5 m it declared in 2020.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said; "Considered that this company made hundreds of millions of pounds in revenue last year directly from gamblers who lost cash, it is absolutely shameful that they have also drawn from taxpayers, and that they have not repaid the full furlough quantity.
Ladbrokes owner Entain repays some furlough after protest
Entain, the video gaming giant which owns Ladbrokes, is to repay ₤ 44m of the furlough money it declared during the pandemic, however keep ₤ 57.5 m.
Carolyn Harris MP called it "absolutely shameful" that Entain was not repaying everything, despite soaring revenues.
The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax profit in 2021, up 125% on the year before.
It said the furlough scheme had assisted to protect 14,000 jobs, and a "more certain medium-term outlook" made the partial repayment possible.
Entain has around 3,000 betting shops in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it needed to close for big parts of 2020 and 2021 because of coronavirus constraints.
However, punters did not stop wagering, they simply moved online. Entain's online business grew quickly, and helping to press the group's revenues up 8% in 2015.
In reaction to a BBC Newspaper article in January, MPs contacted Entain to pay back the cash it had received under the furlough scheme, 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 previously that the circumstance was "under review". On Thursday, it announced that it would return the ₤ 44m it declared in 2021, but keep the ₤ 57.5 m it declared in 2020.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said; "Considered that this company made hundreds of millions of pounds in revenue last year directly from gamblers who lost cash, it is absolutely shameful that they have also drawn from taxpayers, and that they have not repaid the full furlough quantity.