Ladbrokes Owner Entain Repays some Furlough After Outcry

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Ladbrokes owner Entain repays some furlough after protest

Entain, the gaming giant which owns Ladbrokes, is to repay ₤ 44m of the furlough money it claimed during the pandemic, however keep ₤ 57.5 m.
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Carolyn Harris MP called it "absolutely disgraceful" that Entain was not repaying it all, regardless of skyrocketing profits.
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The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax profit in 2021, up 125% on the year before.

It stated the furlough scheme had assisted to secure 14,000 tasks, and a "more particular medium-term outlook" made the partial repayment possible.

Entain has around 3,000 wagering shops in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it needed to close for large parts of 2020 and 2021 due to the fact that of coronavirus limitations.

However, punters did not stop wagering, they simply moved online. business proliferated, and assisting to press the group's earnings up 8% last year.

In reaction to a BBC News story in January, MPs called on Entain to repay the cash it had actually gotten under the furlough plan, with previous Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith stating the business must "instantly hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer".

Entain has actually stated formerly that the situation was "under evaluation". On Thursday, it revealed that it would return the ₤ 44m it declared in 2021, however keep the ₤ 57.5 m it declared in 2020.
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Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, stated; "Given that this promotion code company made hundreds of millions of pounds in earnings in 2015 directly from bettors who lost money, it is definitely shameful that they have also drawn from taxpayers, and that they have not paid back the full furlough quantity."

Entain said in a declaration: "The scheme was a practical and highly bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that helped us, as one of the nation's largest retailers, to keep the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail colleagues on full pay.
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"We have kept the scenario under evaluation considering that we first utilized the plan and are delighted to be in a position to pay back these cash."
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Among Entain's rivals, William Hill, also needed to close its wagering shops, however it returned the ₤ 24.5 m furlough it claimed in 2020, and took no more, citing the "strength of the post-lockdown healing".
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Bookmakers Betfred declared at least ₤ 46.6 m from the furlough throughout the pandemic, in spite of making ₤ 205m revenue in their latest accounts.
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The BBC has asked Betfred for a comment in action to Entain's move.

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

Ladbrokes ₤ 102m furlough claim in spite of online lift
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