Ladbrokes Owner Entain Repays some Furlough After Outcry Ladbrokes owner Entain pays back some furlough after outcry 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 shameful" that Entain was not repaying it all, in spite of soaring profits. The group made ₤ 393m in pre-tax earnings in 2021, up 125% on the year before. It said the furlough scheme had helped to safeguard 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 limitations. However, punters did not stop wagering, they simply moved online. Entain's online company grew rapidly, and assisting to push the group's incomes up 8% last year. In reaction to a BBC Newspaper article in January, MPs contacted Entain to repay the cash it had actually gotten under the furlough scheme, with previous Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying the company should "instantly hand the cash back to the UK taxpayer". Entain has stated previously that the situation was "under evaluation". On Thursday, it revealed that it would return the ₤ 44m it declared in 2021, however keep the ₤ 57.5 m it declared in 2020. Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, stated; "Given that this company made hundreds of countless pounds in revenue last year directly from bettors who lost money, it is absolutely shameful that they have likewise taken from taxpayers, and that they have actually not repaid the complete furlough amount.