Ladbrokes owner Entain repays some furlough after outcry

Entain, the yohaig code video gaming giant which owns Ladbrokes, is to pay back ₤ 44m of the furlough money it declared during the pandemic, but keep ₤ 57.5 m.

Carolyn Harris MP called it "absolutely shameful" that Entain was not repaying all of it, regardless of skyrocketing earnings.

The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax revenue in 2021, up 125% on the year before.

It stated the furlough scheme had helped to protect 14,000 jobs, and a "more specific medium-term outlook" made the partial payment possible.

Entain has around 3,000 wagering shops in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it needed to close for big parts of 2020 and 2021 since of coronavirus restrictions.

However, punters did not stop betting, they simply moved online. Entain's online service proliferated, and assisting to push the group's revenues up 8% in 2015.

In response to a BBC Newspaper article in January, MPs got in touch with Entain to repay the cash it had actually received under the furlough scheme, with former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith stating the company must "immediately hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer".

Entain has said formerly that the situation was "under review". On Thursday, it revealed that it would return the ₤ 44m it claimed in 2021, but keep the yohaig code ₤ 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 promotion code company made numerous countless pounds in earnings in 2015 straight from bettors who lost cash, it is definitely shameful that they have also taken from taxpayers, which they have not repaid the full furlough amount."

Entain said in a statement: "The scheme was a practical and extremely bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that helped us, as one of the country's biggest retailers, to keep the yohaig code livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail associates on full pay.

"We have actually kept the scenario under review considering that we first made use of the plan and are happy to be in a position to repay these monies."

Among Entain's competitors, William Hill, likewise had to close its betting stores, but it returned the ₤ 24.5 m furlough it declared in 2020, and took no more, pointing out the yohaig code "strength of the post-lockdown healing".

Bookmakers Betfred declared a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m from the furlough during the pandemic, regardless of making ₤ 205m profit in their newest accounts.

The BBC has asked Betfred for a comment in response to Entain's relocation.

In January, a representative for the firm 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."

Ladbrokes ₤ 102m furlough claim regardless of online lift