Betting firm warns thousands of jobs are at risk in its bookmaker shops
North West bookmaker Betfred has warned that it could be forced to axe 4,500 jobs if the Government presses ahead with plans to limit maximum stakes on gambling machines.
The so-called Fixed Odds Betting Terminals have become controversial in recent years and have been labelled the crack cocaine of gambling.
The Government wants to impose a £2 maximum stake. The current level is £100 and the Gambling Commission has recommended a £30 limit.
Betfred, which has its head office in Warrington and owns The Tote, has warned that it will have to axe thousands of jobs in its betting shops if a £2 limit is imposed.
The bookmaker said the move would make 900 shops loss-making overnight.
Betfred was set up by Salford born Fred and Peter Done who now have a combined wealth of £1.35bn.
The brothers opened their first branch in Salford in 1967 and now have more than 1,650 UK outlets and shops at 51 racecourses.
Mark Stebbings, the managing director of Betfred, has written a letter to the Home Affairs sub-committee.
He also sent an email to Betfred employees urging them to write to their MPs.
He said: “This would have a significant impact on the viability of the number of our shops and therefore employment in our businesses – it is not too late to warn your MP of the unintended consequences of such a drastic cut.
“Simply fill in the postcode of where you live, the system will identify who your local MP is, then fill in your contact details and press send – the letter is already written for you and it will be emailed to your MP.”
The company has also warned that several hundred staff at the firm’s Warrington headquarters would lose their jobs.
Mr Stebbings has come up with a compromise which would involve tracking customers’ gambling activity.
In the letter he said: “Working in conjunction with the Gambling Commission we believe these stake ranges would protect vulnerable gamblers, limit the number of job losses and the impact of livelihoods in the betting industry, and would protect some jobs in the racing industry.”
William Hill has told the Government have warned that limiting spending on FOBT would leave the firm vulnerable.
Fred Done was interviewed on the Sky news channel about the issue.
He said loss-making shops would likely to close when their lease expires.
He added that the impact would be “greater than the job losses and shop closures at Maplin, Toys R Us, Mothercare and Prezzo put together”.
Mr Done said he had not ruled out backing moves to seek a judicial review in order to challenge the reforms.
He added: “The Tories have adopted a Labour Party manifesto pledge. They are playing politics with people’s jobs”.
