Ladbrokes claimed £102m in furlough payments over two-year period

Financial accounts released on Thursday show that in addition to the £57.5m claimed in furlough payments by Ladbrokes in 2020, an additional £44.5m was claimed in 2021.

Accounts for Ladbrokes Gaming and Betting Ltd, a subsidiary of Entain, show that during the government’s Covid-19 furlough scheme, the company received a total of approximately £102m in payments.

Ladbrokes, which alongside Coral, employs retail staff in around 2,700 outlets UK-wide, said in a statement: “The furlough scheme was a sensible and highly welcome policy intervention that helped us, as one of the country’s largest retailers, to maintain the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail colleagues on full pay.”

In March 2021, it was reported that Entain was in “no rush” to pay back the then £62.9m monies that had been provided by the government under the UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

It would appear that this is still the case following the publishing of the most recent accounts.

“Whilst the virus is still with us and the outlook, although improving, is still far from certain, the board will continue to keep the situation under review,” a spokesperson for Entain added.

The total received by Ladbrokes through the furlough scheme makes it one of the country’s top 20 companies to have utilised it, according to BBC News.

In August 2020, William Hill was the first gambling operator to repay furlough payments, sending back £24.5m, while Flutter Entertainment opted out of utilising the furlough scheme altogether.