Ladbrokes claimed ₤ 102m furlough in spite of online increase

7 January 2022

ByBen King Business reporter, BBC News

Bookmaker Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m from the furlough plan, in spite of quick development in online betting offseting all losses from the closure of shops.
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Accounts published on Thursday show that Ladbrokes declared ₤ 57.5 m in 2020, and the BBC comprehends it declared a further ₤ 44m this promotion code year.
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Since the started parent company Entain has actually increased incomes, driven by strong online growth.
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Entain stated the cash secured 14,000 tasks, and is "under evaluation."

The greatest claimers from the furlough scheme were primarily those for whom Covid lockdowns indicated steep falls in revenue - airlines, bar business, leisure groups, shops, dining establishments and catering services.

One business sticks out in the list - Ladbrokes, the UK's biggest operator of wagering shops, with 2,845 premises branded Ladbrokes or Coral.

For though it needed to close them for big parts of 2020 and 2021, it had a lifeline - online.
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Its parent business, FTSE 100-listed video gaming giant Entain, has a big online betting company, and consumers who could not wager in shops during the dark days of lockdown gathered to websites and apps rather.
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Last April's Grand National broke the record for the biggest online sports betting occasion in the UK.

this promotion code implied that in spite of lockdowns, Entain's 2020 revenues were unchanged from the year before at ₤ 3.6 bn, and it even handled to tape-record an earnings of ₤ 114m. In the first 9 months of 2021 revenues grew 8%.

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

₤ 102m furlough claim

Despite a strong monetary efficiency, Ladbrokes made a big furlough claim.
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Accounts for Ladbrokes Gaming and Betting Ltd, a subsidiary company of Entain, filed with Companies House and released on Thursday show that it declared ₤ 57.5 m of furlough in 2020.

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

According to BBC analysis of information released by HMRC, that would be one of the 20 biggest furlough claims for 2021.

A spokesperson for Entain said: "The furlough plan was a sensible and extremely bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that helped us, as one of the nation's largest retailers, to maintain the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail associates 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 scenario under review."

Entain is lawfully entitled to claim the money, and there is no recommendation that it did anything wrong in making the claim or retaining the cash.
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However rival bookmaker William Hill decided to return ₤ 24.5 m of furlough cash in August 2020, pointing out the "strength of the post-lockdown recovery."

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

"Any company with a clear sense of morality would immediately hand this promotion code refund to the UK taxpayer."

A variety of companies in other industries chose to return furlough funds when the effect of the pandemic showed less severe than at first feared - including housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, Games Workshop, and distribution huge Bunzl.
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Flutter, owner of the Paddy Power wagering shops, did not tap the furlough plan at all.

Betfred claimed a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m in furlough

Betfred, which runs 1500 betting stores, likewise made significant furlough claims despite increasing profits.
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It claimed ₤ 28.1 m in furlough the year ending 27 Sep 2020, according to business accounts.

In addition, a Betfred subsidiary company, Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Ltd, claimed someplace between ₤ 18.5 m and ₤ 37.5 m from Dec 2020 to May 2021, according to HMRC information (which only offers a range, not a particular figure).

The overall for the group amounts to between ₤ 46.6 m and ₤ 65.6 m, though these figures do not consist of any claims it might have made in October and November 2020.

Betfred Group saw turnover fall from ₤ 621m to ₤ 525m in the year ending 27 September 2020, the most recent figures available, as lockdowns forced its stores to close.

However the group still made considerable profits, up from ₤ 171m to ₤ 205m, raised by some one-off gains including ₤ 98m resulting from an effective lawsuit against HMRC for VAT paid on fixed-odds wagering terminals from 2005 to 2013.

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

Coronavirus lockdown procedures

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