Ladbrokes Owner Entain Repays some Furlough After Outcry > 자유게시판

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Ladbrokes owner Entain pays back some furlough after outcry

Entain, the video gaming giant which owns Ladbrokes, is to repay ₤ 44m of the furlough cash it declared throughout the pandemic, but keep ₤ 57.5 m.

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

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

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

Entain has around 3,000 betting shops in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it had to close for large parts of 2020 and 2021 because of coronavirus restrictions.

However, punters did not stop betting, they simply moved online. Entain's online company grew quickly, and helping to press the group's earnings up 8% in 2015.

In response to a BBC News story in January, MPs got in touch with Entain to pay back the cash it had gotten under the furlough scheme, with former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the company should "right away hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer".

Entain has said previously that the situation was "under review". On Thursday, it announced that it would return the ₤ 44m it claimed in 2021, but keep the ₤ 57.5 m it claimed in 2020.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, stated; "Given that this promotion code business made hundreds of countless pounds in revenue last year straight from gamblers who lost money, it is absolutely shameful that they have actually likewise drawn from taxpayers, and that they have actually not repaid the complete furlough amount."

Entain stated in a declaration: "The scheme was a reasonable and extremely bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that assisted us, as one of the country's largest sellers, to preserve the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail colleagues on full pay.

"We have kept the situation under review because we first used the plan and are delighted to be in a position to pay back these cash."

Among Entain's rivals, William Hill, likewise needed to close its wagering stores, however it returned the ₤ 24.5 m furlough it claimed in 2020, and took no more, citing the "strength of the post-lockdown healing".

Bookmakers Betfred claimed a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m from the furlough throughout the pandemic, in spite of making ₤ 205m earnings in their latest accounts.

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

In January, a representative for the company said: "Thanks to the federal government's Job Retention [furlough] Scheme we have not needed to make a due to the pandemic and we will continue to buy our stores on the High Street."

Ladbrokes ₤ 102m furlough claim despite online lift