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Ladbrokes owner Entain repays some furlough after outcry

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

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

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

It said the furlough scheme had actually helped to secure 14,000 tasks, and a "more certain medium-term outlook" made the partial payment possible.

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

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

In response to a BBC News story in January, MPs got in touch with Entain to repay the cash it had received under the furlough plan, with former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the business needs to "right away hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer".

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

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the yohaig code Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said; "Considered that this promotion code company made hundreds of countless pounds in earnings in 2015 directly from gamblers who lost cash, it is definitely outrageous that they have actually also taken from taxpayers, which they have not paid back the complete furlough quantity."

Entain said in a declaration: "The plan was a practical and extremely bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that helped us, as one of the country's largest merchants, to keep the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail associates on complete pay.

"We have kept the circumstance under review because we initially utilized the plan and are happy to be in a position to pay back these monies."

One of Entain's competitors, William Hill, also 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 recovery".

Bookmakers Betfred declared a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m from the furlough throughout the pandemic, in spite of making ₤ 205m profit in their most current accounts.

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

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

Ladbrokes ₤ 102m furlough claim regardless of online lift