Back in late March of this year, one of the largest bookmakers, William Hill, suggested that he might have to close many points. Then they sent out letters to 2,000 owners of rented offices and asked for a 50% reduction in fees. Apparently, this did not work, so the other day it became known that the bookmaker closes 700 points. A decision that could put 4,500 people out of work.
Meanwhile, GVC Holding does not rule out the possibility that it will have to close up to 900 locations over the next two years, leaving 5,000 employees out of work. GVC owns well-known brands such as Ladbrokes and Coral and has approximately 3,400 offices in total.
All these troubles are caused by the April decrease in the maximum bet for gaming terminals with fixed rates. The regulator introduced a limit of 2 pounds, which is 50 times less than the previous 100 pounds.
Recall that bookmakers tried to circumvent the law. Someone came up with the idea that you just need to accept bets on paper, because the lowering of the limit affected only terminals. However, the UK Gambling Commission threatened that it was against the "spirit" of the law and operators would be punished.
There is already an opinion that the regulator has gone too far trying to fight gambling addiction. After all, the loss of thousands of jobs is a huge blow to the population.
