William Hill looks for ways to offset FOBTs income loss

The bookmaker estimates that 900 shops could close if rents are not cut before the FOBTs implementation.

UK.- A cut on the maximum stake on fixed odds betting machines (FOBTs) will soon take effect in the UK, and the losses for bookmakers will be in the millions. William Hill has asked its landlords to reduce rents by 50% to help reduce the cost of lost revenue due to the FOBTs cut.

In an open letter to 2,000 landlords, William Hill said that it needed them to cut rents immediately in order to avoit closing up to 900 of its 2,300 shops. “The change in regulations will mean that many shops will see costs rise significantly at a time when revenues will decline by in excess of 50% in many cases,” the company said.

“We are therefore asking all our landlords to help us maintain our position at William Hill as the leading gambling operator on the high street so that our shops can continue to offer a great service to our customers and help maintain the viability of our high streets,” reads the letter.

A spokesman for the company talked to The Guardian and said that the company hopes that for many shops, paying lower level rent is better than having their shops empty. “We can’t afford to wait for things to happen as this will simply result in the creeping closure of more and more shops.”

The reduction on the maximum stake on FOBTs is reportedly working

UK’s Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), a government independent body, has recently published its assessment of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) policy on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs). The RPC believes in the reduction of the maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2. The measure will take effect on April 1, and boosts social responsibility measures that are “for purpose”.