As the English media has been publishing contradicting reports on what limit the UK will ultimately place on wagers at fixed odds betting terminals, the chairman of William Hill is asking the government not to make any cuts at all to FOBT wager requirements.
The UK government has said it will cut the maximum bet allowed at FOBTs. The current limit is £100, but the government is considering cuts that could be between £50 to as little as £2 pounds. Many in the UK Parliament are pushing for the £2 limit, which is reportedly putting them at odds with others MPs in favor of a less drastic cut.
In letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, however, William Hill Chairman Roger Devlin called any change “unnecessary and lacking in evidence,” and saying that a sharp cut will be “catastrophic” to the betting industry if.
William Hill argues that the proposed plan to reduce the maximum stake to £2 could put 20,000 jobs at risk and cost the Treasury around £1bn in revenue. The letter also warned that the change could hurt consumers by driving gamblers into “more volatile products or less protected environments.”
Devlin called for a more proportionate reduction in maximum stakes, one that “balances the need to protect those in society that are vulnerable, against British businesses who want to maintain the highest ethical standards.”
The letter comes amid reports that many in the gambling industry are asking for a one-year moratorium on any cuts to allow the industry to prepare. There have also been calls for a delay since the issue is divisive and has caused high tensions among Parliament members, according to UK media.
