EU iGaming weekly: Machine games duty, Flutter job cuts, Q3 results

Labour MPs pushed for a higher machine games duty, Flutter put up to 1,400 UK and Ireland jobs at risk, and Betsson, FDJ United, and Evolution reported Q3 results.

This week at a glance

• 90 Labour MPs asked the Chancellor for a higher machine games duty rate on Category B machines, and the BGC says the Treasury could end up worse off.
• France’s regulated gambling market grew 0.5% in H1 2026, and online was the only part of it that grew.
• Spain opened its joint deposit limit system, with a default limit of €700 a day across all licensed operators.
• Flutter plans up to 1,400 job cuts in its UK and Ireland business, citing last year’s UK gambling tax rises.
• Betsson posted record Q3 revenue, FDJ United cut its 2026 targets again, and Evolution’s revenue grew for the first time in five quarters.

Five biggest stories of the week

1. Labour MPs push for higher machine games duty

90 Labour MPs have asked Chancellor John Healey for a new, higher machine games duty (MGD) rate on Category B machines in his first Budget on 28 October. The letter, written by Halesowen MP Alex Ballinger, singles out B3 machines, which take stakes of up to £2 and currently pay the 20% standard rate. It cites Social Market Foundation estimates that a 40% rate would raise £275 million to £458 million a year.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) responded. Chief executive Grainne Hurst said EY modelling shows a 40% rate could cost up to 16,000 jobs, close nearly 1,500 betting shops and 34 casinos, and leave the Treasury up to £124 million worse off.

2. French gambling growth slows to 0.5% in H1 2026

France’s regulated gambling market grew 0.5% to €5.66 billion in GGR in the first half of 2026, down from 4.1% growth a year earlier. The figures come from the semi-annual report by the ANJ, France’s gambling regulator, and exclude land-based casinos and gaming clubs. Online GGR rose 11% to €1.45 billion, and online was the only part of the market that grew.

Online sports betting GGR rose 11.6% to €995 million, with most of the growth in June, when the World Cup began. GGR from FDJ United’s exclusive-rights business fell 2% to €3.43 billion, which the operator put down to fewer big EuroMillions jackpots. PMU’s fell 5.8% to €782 million, its third year of decline in a row.

3. Spain launches joint deposit limits across operators

Spain’s gambling regulator, the DGOJ, launched its joint deposit limit system on 21 October, alongside a new Player Portal. The system counts a player’s deposits across every licensed online operator against one combined limit, set by default at €700 a day, €1,750 a week, and €3,300 over four weeks. Once a player reaches it, operators cannot accept further deposits.

The Player Portal lets players see their deposits, stakes, winnings, and losses across all their accounts in one place. The ministry says the measure will mainly benefit people who gamble with more than one operator, roughly a third of active online players. The system is in a testing phase and comes fully into force in March 2027.

4. Flutter plans up to 1,400 UK and Ireland job cuts

Flutter Entertainment plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs in its UK and Ireland business, about 16% of the 9,000 people who work there. The plans, announced on 20 October and subject to consultation, affect Leeds, Dublin, and UK and Ireland staff at hubs in Porto and Cluj-Napoca. Flutter said the restructure was a response to the UK gambling tax rises in the November 2025 Budget.

The restructure will cost $80 million to $90 million in Q4, a figure already included in Flutter’s guidance. Flutter expects the tax rises to cost it $540 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2027 before mitigation, and it aims to offset $201 million of that. Truist and JPMorgan both cut their price targets on the day of the announcement.

5. Betsson, FDJ United, and Evolution report Q3 results

Three listed groups reported their third-quarter figures this week.

• Betsson’s revenue rose 10% to a record €326.5 million, but EBIT fell 31% to €46.1 million. Casino and Latin America drove the growth, while betting duties rose to €69.4 million from €41.4 million.
• FDJ United’s Q3 revenue fell 8.1% to €794 million, and the group lowered its 2026 targets for the third time this year. It blamed fewer big EuroMillions jackpots, high winnings for retail sports bettors, weaker footfall, and higher gaming taxes.
• Evolution’s net revenues rose 3.7% to €526.1 million, its first year-on-year growth in five quarters. Profit fell 3.6% in a quarter that included €12.1 million in one-off costs, and the group has since closed its Brazilian studio after the country’s betting ban.

What to watch next

Healey delivers the UK Budget on 28 October, when he will set out any decision on machine games duty. Flutter reports Q3 results in November and has said it will then give more detail on the second phase of its cost programme.

In France, the ANJ says full-year online growth will depend on whether the players who joined for the World Cup keep betting. Spain’s joint deposit limits come fully into force in March 2027, and FDJ United publishes its full-year results on 18 February 2027.

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