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 throughout the pandemic, however keep ₤ 57.5 m.
Carolyn Harris MP called it "definitely disgraceful" that Entain was not repaying all of it, regardless of skyrocketing revenues.
The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax revenue in 2021, up 125% on the year before.
It said the furlough plan had helped to safeguard 14,000 jobs, and a "more particular medium-term outlook" made the partial repayment possible.
Entain has around 3,000 wagering stores in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it had 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 service proliferated, and helping to press the group's revenues up 8% last year.
In reaction to a BBC News story in January, MPs got in touch with Entain to pay back the money it had actually received under the furlough plan, with previous Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the company must "immediately hand the money back to the UK taxpayer".
Entain has said previously that the circumstance was "under evaluation". On Thursday, it revealed 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, stated; "Given that this company made hundreds of millions of pounds in earnings last year directly from gamblers who lost money, it is absolutely outrageous that they have also drawn from taxpayers, which they have actually not paid back the complete 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 throughout the pandemic, however keep ₤ 57.5 m.
Carolyn Harris MP called it "definitely disgraceful" that Entain was not repaying all of it, regardless of skyrocketing revenues.
The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax revenue in 2021, up 125% on the year before.
It said the furlough plan had helped to safeguard 14,000 jobs, and a "more particular medium-term outlook" made the partial repayment possible.
Entain has around 3,000 wagering stores in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it had 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 service proliferated, and helping to press the group's revenues up 8% last year.
In reaction to a BBC News story in January, MPs got in touch with Entain to pay back the money it had actually received under the furlough plan, with previous Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the company must "immediately hand the money back to the UK taxpayer".
Entain has said previously that the circumstance was "under evaluation". On Thursday, it revealed 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, stated; "Given that this company made hundreds of millions of pounds in earnings last year directly from gamblers who lost money, it is absolutely outrageous that they have also drawn from taxpayers, which they have actually not paid back the complete furlough quantity.