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Ladbrokes owner Entain repays some furlough after protest

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

Carolyn Harris MP called it "absolutely outrageous" that Entain was not repaying everything, despite soaring earnings.

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

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

Entain has around 3,000 wagering stores in the UK branded Ladbrokes or Coral - which it needed to close for large parts of 2020 and 2021 due to the fact that of coronavirus limitations.

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

In reaction to a BBC News story in January, MPs called on Entain to repay the cash it had actually received under the furlough scheme, with previous Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the company must "immediately hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer".

Entain has actually said previously that the situation was "under evaluation". On Thursday, it revealed that it would return the ₤ 44m it claimed in 2021, however keep the ₤ 57.5 m it claimed in 2020.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said; "Given that this promotion code company made numerous millions of pounds in profit in 2015 straight from gamblers who lost money, it is definitely shameful that they have also drawn from taxpayers, which they have not paid back the full furlough amount."

Entain stated in a declaration: "The plan was a practical and highly bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that helped us, as one of the nation's largest retailers, to preserve the incomes of more than 14,000 retail coworkers on full pay.

"We have kept the scenario under review because we first used the plan and are pleased to be in a position to pay back these monies."

One of Entain's rivals, William Hill, likewise needed to close its betting shops, but it returned the ₤ 24.5 m furlough it declared in 2020, and took no more, citing the "strength of the post-lockdown recovery".

Bookmakers Betfred claimed at least ₤ 46.6 m from the yohaig code furlough during the pandemic, in spite of making ₤ 205m earnings in their latest accounts.

The BBC has actually asked Betfred for a remark in reaction to Entain's move.

In January, a representative for the firm stated: "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 buy our shops on the High Street."

Ladbrokes ₤ 102m furlough claim in spite of online lift