TWO betting shops in Swindon’s town centre suddenly shut yesterday.
The chain pulled the plug on the Regent Street and Plaza branches following a significant drop in profits after the government changed the law on fixed-odds betting terminals.
A William Hill spokesman said: “In July, William Hill announced that we had entered into a consultation process with retail colleagues over plans to close around 700 licensed betting offices.
“This follows the government’s decision to reduce the maximum stake on gaming products to £2 on April 1.
“Unfortunately, our shops in Swindon are now uneconomic and have closed as a result of this.
“We are utilising redeployment and offering voluntary redundancy where possible and will provide full support to anyone impacted by redundancy.”
The government said at the time that the new maximum stakes were introduced due to concerns that players were able to lose a large amount of money in a short space of time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel