Betting giant to shut 700 shops putting 4,500 jobs at risk

Betting group William Hill has said it plans to close around 700 betting shops across the UK, a move which puts 4,500 jobs at risk.

The company said the decision follows the Government’s decision to reduce the maximum stake on B2 gaming products to £2 in April.

It said that since then, the company has seen a “significant fall” in gaming machine revenues, in line with the guidance given when the government’s decision was announced in May 2018.

The company said in a statement: “A large number of redundancies is anticipated with 4,500 colleagues at risk. The group will look to apply voluntary redundancy and redeployment measures extensively and will be providing support to all colleagues throughout the process.

“Subject to the outcome of the consultation process, shop closures are likely to begin before the end of the year.”