Entain's Earnings Fall as UK Gambling Tax Bites Into Profits

^{A Ladbrokes betting shop in the UK, where Entain's retail estate returned like-for-like growth in the first half of 2026. (Photo: Geograph / Wikimedia Commons)}

Entain, the FTSE 100 owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, reported a 2% fall in Group Underlying EBITDA to £479 million for the six months to 30 June 2026, as a sharply higher UK tax bill offset revenue growth across its betting and gaming brands.

The interim results, published on 13 August, showed net gaming revenue rose 5% at constant currency, with the UK and Ireland division up 8%, driven by 13% online gaming growth and a strong World Cup betting campaign. Adjusted diluted earnings per share still fell 19% to 20.3p, which Entain attributed to lower underlying earnings and a higher effective tax rate on continuing operations.

The Group's tax charge on continuing operations more than tripled to £57.8 million, from £19.5 million a year earlier, pushing the underlying effective tax rate to 34.4% from 30.3%. Income taxes paid in cash more than doubled to £93.1 million, from £42.1 million in the first half of 2025.

UK Gambling Duty Squeezes Margins

The jump follows the UK government's increase to Remote Gaming Duty, which rose to 40% from 21% on 1 April 2026. Rival operator The Rank Group flagged the same duty rise last week when it warned that further tax increases could force casino and bingo venues to close.

Entain's Group loss after tax narrowed to £11.4 million, an improvement of £74 million year-on-year, helped by a swing in financial instruments and foreign exchange gains. Net debt stood at £3.6 billion at the end of June, with reported leverage flat year-on-year at 3.1 times underlying earnings.

Stella David, chief executive of Entain, said in the results statement that she was 'pleased with Entain's start to 2026 with strong momentum and volume growth continuing as well as strong player engagement across the Group throughout the World Cup tournament'.

'This performance reflects our strengthening operations and focused execution, which reinforces the resilience of our globally scaled business and its ability to consistently deliver high-quality growth,' David said in the statement.

Dividend Rises Despite Earnings Pressure

The board declared an interim dividend of 10.3p per share, up 5% year-on-year, in line with Entain's progressive dividend policy. The company said it remained on track with the phased exit of its Entain CEE joint venture, after agreeing to sell an initial 20% stake for €425 million in June, implying a total enterprise value of €2.1 billion for the Central and Eastern European business.

Entain runs brands including Ladbrokes, Coral and PartyCasino, alongside its 50-50 BetMGM joint venture with MGM Resorts in the United States. The rising UK tax burden adds to pressure already reshaping the domestic market: William Hill and Ladbrokes are closing hundreds of betting shops as operators trim their retail estates in response to the higher duty.

Entain said its International division grew 3% at constant currency, with Australia ahead of expectations on 13% online growth, while Brazil's net gaming revenue fell 25% amid a difficult sports margin in the first quarter. The company reiterated that it expects the tax and regulatory environment in its core UK market to remain a key factor shaping performance for the rest of the year.

Entain's full interim results statement is available on the company's investor relations site.