Ladbrokes Claimed ₤ 102m Furlough Despite Online Boost

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Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m furlough regardless of online increase

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Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m furlough despite online boost

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7 January 2022

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ByBen King
Business reporter, BBC News


Bookmaker Ladbrokes claimed ₤ 102m from the furlough scheme, despite rapid development in online betting making up for all losses from the closure of shops.


Accounts released on Thursday reveal that Ladbrokes declared ₤ 57.5 m in 2020, and the BBC understands it claimed an additional ₤ 44m this promotion code year.


Since the pandemic started parent business Entain has really increased revenues, driven by strong online development.


Entain said the cash safeguarded 14,000 tasks, and is "under evaluation."


The most significant claimers from the furlough scheme were primarily those for whom Covid lockdowns suggested steep falls in profits - airline companies, pub companies, leisure groups, stores, dining establishments and catering services.

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One company sticks out in the list - Ladbrokes, the UK's biggest operator of wagering stores, with 2,845 properties branded Ladbrokes or Coral.


For though it needed to close them for big parts of 2020 and 2021, it had a lifeline - online.


Its parent company, FTSE 100-listed gaming giant Entain, has a big online gaming organization, and consumers who could not wager in shops during the dark days of lockdown gathered to websites and apps rather.


Last April's Grand National broke the record for the biggest online sports wagering event in the UK.


this promotion code indicated that in spite of lockdowns, Entain's 2020 earnings were the same from the year before at ₤ 3.6 bn, and it even managed to tape a revenue of ₤ 114m. In the first 9 months of 2021 revenues grew 8%.


Entain is also well positioned to take advantage of the explosive development of online wagering in the US through its BetMGM joint venture.


₤ 102m furlough claim


Despite a strong monetary efficiency, Ladbrokes made a large furlough claim.


Accounts for Ladbrokes Gaming and Betting Ltd, a subsidiary company of Entain, filed with Companies House and published on Thursday show that it declared ₤ 57.5 m of furlough in 2020.


The BBC comprehends the company declared around ₤ 44m in 2021, taking the total to ₤ 102m.

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According to BBC analysis of data released by HMRC, that would be among the 20 most significant furlough claims for 2021.


A representative for Entain said: "The furlough scheme was a practical and extremely bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that assisted us, as one of the nation's biggest merchants, to maintain the incomes of more than 14,000 retail coworkers on complete pay.


"Whilst the virus is still with us and the outlook, although enhancing, is still far from specific, the Board will continue to keep the situation under review."

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Entain is legally entitled to declare the cash, and there is no recommendation that it did anything wrong in making the claim or maintaining the money.


However rival bookmaker William Hill decided to return ₤ 24.5 m of furlough money in August 2020, pointing out the "strength of the post-lockdown recovery."

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Iain Duncan Smith MP, the vice chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said: "The greed of these business, that obtain huge earnings from addicted gamblers, never ceases to astonish.


"Any business with a clear sense of morality would right away hand this refund to the UK taxpayer."


A number of business in other markets opted to return furlough funds when the effect of the pandemic proved less extreme than at first feared - consisting of housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, Games Workshop, and distribution giant Bunzl.


Flutter, owner of the Paddy Power wagering shops, did not tap the furlough scheme at all.


Betfred declared a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m in furlough


Betfred, which runs 1500 betting shops, likewise made considerable furlough claims despite increasing earnings.

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It declared ₤ 28.1 m in furlough the yohaig code year ending 27 Sep 2020, according to company accounts.


In addition, a Betfred subsidiary business, Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Ltd, declared someplace in between ₤ 18.5 m and ₤ 37.5 m from Dec 2020 to May 2021, according to HMRC information (which just offers a variety, not a specific figure).


The overall for the group adds up to between ₤ 46.6 m and ₤ 65.6 m, though these figures don't include any claims it may have made in October and November 2020.

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Betfred Group saw turnover fall from ₤ 621m to ₤ 525m in the year ending 27 September 2020, the current figures offered, as lockdowns forced its shops to close.


However the group still made substantial profits, up from ₤ 171m to ₤ 205m, lifted by some one-off gains including ₤ 98m resulting from a successful court case versus HMRC for VAT paid on fixed-odds betting terminals from 2005 to 2013.


A Betfred spokesman stated: "Thanks to the Government's Job Retention [furlough] Scheme we have actually not needed to make a single redundancy due to the pandemic and we will continue to invest in our shops on the high street."


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