UK-based William Hill, the world’s biggest bookmaker for sports betting, online casino, poker games, bingo and more, has closed its second betting outlet in the city of Lincoln.
The bookmaker revealed earlier this year that its two betting shops in Lincoln ran a risk of closing by the end of this year. William Hill has also disclosed that huge lay-offs are expected nationwide, with the risk of approximately 4,500 jobs being lost.
According to William Hill, the tougher gambling regulations and the reduction in the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), has resulted in a number of bookmakers feeling the heat.
William Hill has also announced that they will be shutting around 700 Betting shops across the United Kingdom and that the huge lay-offs could put approximately 4,500 jobs at risk.
The betting operator also said that by closing shops, it would cost them up to £6,000 each, with their operating profits going down by up to £100 million a year.
Following William Hill’s announcement, UK’s top gambling operator GVC Holdings revealed that they would be shutting betting stores which would put an enormous amount of jobs at risk.
GVC issued a statement to the press stating that over the next two years, as a result of the reduction in maximum stakes on FOBTs to £2 that came into force on 1st April 2019, they expect up to 900 shops to be at risk of closure, affecting up to 5,000 jobs and that there are a number of shops that have been identified for closure as part of this process.
