Bookmakers are preparing for the closing of stores while participation in the FOBT is reduced | News from the United Kingdom

Bookmakers are preparing to close stores and push their customers to online gambling as they prepare for restrictions on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) that will come into effect on Monday.

The industry has warned several times that reducing the equity stake in FOBT from £ 100 to £ 2 (pronounced Friday by Secretary of Culture Jeremy Wright) of "significant progress in protecting vulnerable people" – would result in closing of stores and the loss of jobs.

Documents seen by the Guardian indicate that Ladbrokes has already chosen 71 stores out of 1,000 likely to close shutters, affecting sites ranging from Ayrshire to Esbad, at an estimated cost of £ 50,000 per store.

But there are also preliminary indications that the industry might have overestimated the potential of a bookmakers bonfire. According to a controversial report commissioned by the Association of British Bookmakers, nearly 4,500 stores could be closed – more than half of all stores in the UK – estimates by major bookmakers indicate a balance close to 2,300.

In Birmingham's downtown core, the first image that emerges among clients and staff of the FOBT reduction is contrasted. The £ 2 stake has been in effect since early March as part of an attempt to help businesses understand the impact and manage the transition.

"It's crap, innit," said a roulette player in a Ladbrokes branch. "You have to play longer."

But he agreed that lower participation, by definition, limits the amount that he can lose. "To be honest, I think all these places should be closed. I do not have a problem but I know other people who have them. "

Staff said the impact of putting £ 2 on trade was noticeable but not devastating. "When we had them for the first time, people were a little funny, but they come back," said a Coral employee, owned by GVC – like Ladbrokes – at GVC, based in Isle of Man. The store, he added, did not suffer.

Behind the counter near Betfred, a staff member spoke of "mixed reviews", while a William Hill employee took an equally optimistic approach.

"We lost some business but it was not too bad," he said. "You will not be surprised to see how some people get started. They say "I lost all my money last week and now you're stopping me from getting it back." It makes no sense to me. If you lost your money, you lost your money. "

What is clear is that bookmakers react to regulatory change in very different ways.

During the bitter and ultimately very political lobbying campaign on FOBTs, Paddy Power was the only dissident voice in the industry. He does not expect any closures of his 320 stores, in part because he gave up the FOSS-focused strategy adopted by his competitors.

While focusing on traditional sports betting, peers opened stores in local "clusters", bypbading regulations limiting the number of FOBTs per store to four. The result has been a layer of UK scale stores that are unsustainable without this income.

In one of Birmingham's Paddy Power branches, a sign informs bettors of the "new and exciting" roulette game at £ 2. On the other hand, a prominent sign at William Hill reminds customers that the government is to blame for ruining the fun.

It is not surprising that William Hill and others are resentful. FOB roulette was a license to print money like no other, generating £ 1.7 billion in annual revenue of £ 3.2 billion. One way to reduce the gap is to ask homeowners for rent reductions, echoing the desperate measures being taken by more and more retailers struggling with online competition.

Another option is to direct players to alternative games of chance.

William Hill employees present a game that gives FOBT fans a pale echo of big-game roulette, in the new rules of course.

Players can only put £ 2 of their own money, but they can place another 28 virtual chips on the digital roulette table. If their luck is won, the machine will earn £ 30 of these chips, real and virtual, with a maximum price of £ 500.

The same game is offered at Betfred, nearby, but the odds are not favorable and it takes all of two minutes to lose £ 20.

As The Guardian reveals last month, Ladbrokes decides staff to lay off based, in part, on its performance in guiding customers to alternative products, including slot machines and online.

But bookmakers should be wary. The Gaming Commission warns that, with the FOSSs left out, it "looks closely at protecting players on other street machines".

He is also interested in online games, which are attracting more and more the same kind of unwanted political and regulatory attention that has led to the reduction of FOBTs. These days, the house does not always win.