UKH

.....and threatens redundancies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48868335

I have sympathy for folks working in the stores but cant have any sympathy with the firm's whining about tax contributions and other nonsense.

Lowering the terminal limit to £2 was a great thing.  I'm hoping that this gives the gambler time to think about what they are doing and perhaps realise, before its too late, that they need to walk out of the shops with some of their money left in their pockets.

I occasionally like a gamble but the sophistication deployed by these mega rich companies both in marketing spend and having the most cutting edge IT systems available makes me feel very uneasy and I wholly support any government measures to try and curb what they can extract from people.  In many cases people who really cant afford to lose it.

The terminal limit is good, but perhaps not particularly meaningful when you can still just log in online and get on with making £50 spins.

The four FOBT terminal per shop limit made it make sense for them to have multiple shops in close proximity to each other in towns, to get around that limit - that was where most of the money was, and many bookie shops were effectively mini-casinos with a sideline in sports betting. I imagine it's a lot of these 'duplicate' stores that will now be closing.

I'd say it's odds on that you're right about that.

A part from the few people directly impacted I can't see how this is possibly a bad thing.  Less staff/stores means less opportunity for the hapless to throw their money away

I have sympathy for those that will lose their jobs obviously but it seems like WH are acting as thought it’s the governments fault when in fact these were immoral jobs that WH created in the first place. 

Completely, and doubtless we'll get the head of 'The Gambling Industry Association', or whatever industry body represents these companies, saying that this is a travesty, that it will have a knock on to the high street, that we are responsible businesses, that we contribute load of tax etc and so on.

Perhaps if there were a little more responsible and self regulatory then this wouldn't have happened.  

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I dont think I have any sympathy for any part of this.  The people in the shops, I'm sure, will be expected to keep a look out for problem gamblers but in reality are probably 'off the record' turning a blind.

I remember reading a story last month about how the bookies tried to bribe (that’s how i saw it) the government about this single bet limit. Apparently the bookies have to pay a levy of 0.1% of earnings and that levy money goes to gambling charity’s. The bookies offered to voluntarily increase this levy ten fold to 1% if the government reversed their betting limit. Seemed to me they are happy to treat the problem as long as that problem isn’t cured. 

Paralells with big pharmaceutical hey

It's a shame for the staff, but not being a gambler I shed no tears for the reduction of an industry that causes so many people issues in their lives.

Excellent, more room for the pound shops....

More like tanning shops, e-cigs and Greyhounds in need style charity shop

I smell a cynical desire to close expensive high street stores, when they can make more money, cheaper (automated systems, no customer-facing staff) with online gambling