Ladbrokes Ireland's results and what the new Irish gambling regulator means for the market

Ireland has a new gambling regulator, and Ladbrokes Ireland has been cutting costs as the market changes. In this iGaming Daily episode, the host and two SBC News colleagues, an editor and the journalist who wrote the story, use Ladbrokes Ireland's 2025 accounts to look at what the new regime means for operators and how Ireland compares with the UK.

In this episode

• The journalist says Ladbrokes Ireland turned a €1.3 million loss into a €300,000 profit for 2025, while revenue dipped nearly 10% from 36.8 million to 33.2 million (2:35).

• Staff costs fell from 15.4 million to 14.2 million and headcount from 542 to 526 (3:33).

• Entain is not demanding immediate repayment of its funding and has guaranteed continued backing, but said earlier this year it would close 39 Irish shops, citing cost pressures, customer behaviour and the black market (8:05).

• The editor raises a worry that Entain may keep cutting the Irish brand to help prop up its larger UK business, though in that view the online brand is still one of the top five in Ireland (6:48).

• The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland fully took charge in July, taking over from the Revenue Commissioners, the de facto regulator; operators also pay into a social impact fund (15:52).

• Marketing remains a sticking point, and one panellist notes murmurs about higher Irish tax rates (17:47).

Episode from iGaming Daily by SBC Media, published on YouTube.