William Hill, one of the UK’s largest high street bookmakers have approached landlords of their high street betting outlets and asked for a reduction of up to 50% in rents, due to loss of income from the law change on FOBT’s from £100 to just £2 per bet which comes in to force on the 1st of April 2019.
50% Losses
The change in law will see bookmakers making a loss of up to 50% when the law change is implemented in April 2019 . FOBT’s make up half the revenue generated in high street bookmakers with the shift in online gambling taking precedence.The slash in rents needs to take immediate effect to protect the high street bookmakers closing up to 900 of it’s 2,300 branches throughout the UK.
Maintain High Street Position
A William Hill spokesperson told the Guardian,“The change in regulations will mean that many shops will see costs rise significantly at a time when revenues will decline by an excess of 50% in many cases.“We are therefore asking all 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 street.“ We can’t afford to wait for things to happen as this will simply result in the creeping closure of more and more shops.”William Hill are hoping landlords will accept a rent reduction is the only way of ensuring shops are occupied, rather than have more empty shops across high streets throughout the UK.