Ladbrokes Ireland swings to €300k profit as revenue slips 10%
Ladbrokes Ireland made €300,000 in 2025. A year earlier it lost €1.3m, so the needle has moved. Modest money, sure. But it's the first time the Entain-owned unit has finished a year in the black in a while. Revenue headed the other direction.
Turnover dropped just under 10% year-on-year, €36.8m down to €33.2m. That's €3.6m gone. Operating expenses fell faster, to €21.5m from €25.2m in 2024. A €3.7m cut, and it did most of the heavy lifting in getting the company to profit. Staff costs played a big part. They slid from €15.4m to €14.2m, with average monthly headcount down from 542 to 526. Sixteen fewer people on the payroll across the year.
The accounts, filed with the Companies Registration Office, include a going concern note that leans hard on the parent. Ladbrokes Ireland owes €6.4m to other Entain entities. The group says it won't demand that money back on call. Entain has also pledged to make available whatever funds the subsidiary needs for at least twelve months from the date the financial statements were approved, and for the foreseeable future after that. Back in 2023 the company went into a net liability position after impairing its fixed assets. KPMG signed off, confirming compliance with Irish law and the FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework.
Net current liabilities grew over the period, €8.9m in 2024 to €11.1m in 2025. A €2.2m deterioration. It sits next to a retail footprint that's been shrinking for years. In 2017, Ladbrokes had 143 branches across Ireland. Earlier this year the business confirmed it would shut 39 shops, roughly 37% of its Irish retail portfolio, leaving somewhere in the mid-60s. Management blamed sustained cost pressure, long-term shifts in customer behaviour and competition from unlicensed operators. Those closures land in the 2026 numbers, not these.
Entain itself has plenty to deal with. A new UK tax regime has added cost, and the FTSE 250-listed company's share price is down 45% year-to-date. Why does that matter for Ladbrokes Ireland? Because the subsidiary's going concern status rests on the parent's willingness and ability to keep funding it, and the parent is under pressure on several fronts. Entain has absorbed regulatory change before, the new Irish regime included, and it has shown it can cut costs when it has to. The cushion is thinner than it was.
What's left is a brand people know. Horse racing sponsorships keep the Ladbrokes name in view, and its online operation ranks fourth in Ireland by traffic, according to Blask. Retail tells a different story. Fewer shops, fewer staff, less revenue, and a profit that exists only because costs came down faster than sales. For 2026, the number to watch is how much of that €33.2m revenue base survives the loss of 39 shops, and whether Entain's own troubles at group level change the terms of the support it has promised.