As cuts to maximum allowed bets of fixed odds betting terminals go into effect, William Hill has asked its betting shop landlords to reduce rents by 50 percent to help it offset the cost of lost revenue.
The UK has reduced the maximum bet allowed on the machines from £100 to £2, starting April 1.
In an open letter to about 2,000 landlords William Hill said it needed to cut rents to avoid 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 percent in many cases,” the company wrote in the letter and reprinted by UK media. “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. We can’t afford to wait for things to happen as this will simply result in the creeping closure of more and more shops.”
A William Hill spokesman also told the Guardian newspaper that the bookmaker hopes landlords will opt to keep the shops open at a lower rent rather than seeing them close.
In some other UK matters, casino operator Genting Malaysia announced it has sold its equity stake in Maxims casino located in Kensington, London.
Genting UK Plc disposed of its equity interest in Coastbright Ltd, the operator of Maxim casino for a reported $45.6 million to a consortium of investors led by Canadian gaming firm Sonco UK BidCo Limited.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Genting Malaysia said the sale is expected to net a gain of GBP23 million. The company said in a press release that the sale will allow Genting UK to streamline its operations, and proceeds will be used to reduce Genting UK’s borrowings and for other potential investment opportunities.
Genting, which owns and operates another 41 casinos around the UK, first announced plans to sell Maxims in 2017 with an asking price of £40 million.
Also, Admiral Casino announced it will open a new flagship venue in Manchester City center.
Admiral has had a long-time presence in the city at its City Towers venue, which is now closing. The new facility is being built at the city’s former Nationwide Building Society on Lever Street. The new facility will not be a full casino, and will offer the maximum stake of £2 per spin, and the maximum jackpots on offer will be £500.
