Ladbrokes Claimed ₤ 102m Furlough Despite Online Boost

Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m furlough regardless of online increase

7 January 2022

ByBen King
Business press reporter, BBC News

Bookmaker Ladbrokes claimed ₤ 102m from the furlough plan, regardless of fast growth in online betting offseting all losses from the closure of shops.

Accounts released on Thursday show that Ladbrokes declared ₤ 57.5 m in 2020, and the BBC understands it declared a more ₤ 44m this promotion code year.

Since the pandemic started parent business Entain has in fact increased incomes, driven by strong online development.

Entain said the cash protected 14,000 jobs, and is "under evaluation."

The most significant claimers from the furlough plan were mostly those for whom Covid lockdowns implied steep falls in revenue - airline companies, pub companies, leisure groups, shops, dining establishments and caterers.

One company stands out in the list - Ladbrokes, the UK's biggest operator of betting 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 video gaming giant Entain, has a big online gaming service, and consumers who could not bet in stores during the dark days of lockdown gathered to sites and apps instead.

Register at Bet9ja using the promotion code YOHAIG for a N100,000 welcome bonus

Last April's Grand National climaxed for the biggest online sports betting event in the UK.

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

Entain is also well placed to benefit from 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 large furlough claim.

Accounts for Ladbrokes Gaming and Betting Ltd, a subsidiary business of Entain, submitted with Companies House and released on Thursday reveal that it claimed ₤ 57.5 m of furlough in 2020.

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

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

A representative for Entain stated: "The furlough plan was a practical and highly welcome policy intervention that assisted us, as one of the country's largest retailers, to keep the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail coworkers on full pay.

"Whilst the virus is still with us and the outlook, although improving, is still far from certain, the Board will continue to keep the circumstance under evaluation."

Entain is legally entitled to claim the money, and there is no tip that it did anything wrong in making the claim or retaining the money.

However rival bookie William Hill chose 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, stated: "The greed of these business, that derive large make money from addicted bettors, never ever ceases to astonish.

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

A number of business in other markets decided to return furlough funds when the impact of the pandemic proved less severe than at first feared - including housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, Games Workshop, and circulation huge Bunzl.

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

Betfred claimed at least ₤ 46.6 m in furlough

Betfred, which runs 1500 wagering shops, also made considerable furlough claims despite rising profits.

It declared ₤ 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, declared somewhere between ₤ 18.5 m and ₤ 37.5 m from Dec 2020 to May 2021, according to HMRC information (which only provides a range, not a particular figure).

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

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

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

A Betfred representative said: "Thanks to the 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 purchase our stores on the high street."

Coronavirus lockdown procedures