William Hill to Close 200 Betting Shops as UK Gambling Industry Faces Harsh Market Correction

The UK's once-booming high street gambling industry is shrinking fast. William Hill's parent company, Evoke, has confirmed plans to close around 200 betting shops across the country as part of a cost-cutting effort to stabilise its debt-laden business. It is the latest sign of strain for traditional bookmakers.

According to The Times, the closures will affect hundreds of employees and come amid what analysts describe as a market correction driven by tighter regulation, dwindling in-person wagers and the massive shift to online gambling.

'The Fun Has Stopped' for High Street Betting

Bookmakers have been under pressure since the government slashed the maximum stake on Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2 in 2019. The machines, once dubbed the 'crack cocaine of gambling', generated about £52,000 a year per terminal, roughly twice the average British salary, and accounted for a major share of bookmakers' profits.

The policy change devastated the sector. Business Rescue Expert reported that 'the fun appears to have stopped for William Hill' after the group closed 700 shops in 2019, threatening up to 4,500 jobs.

A company spokesperson said at the time that William Hill would apply voluntary redundancy and redeployment wherever possible and offer support to affected staff.

Analysts now warn that this new wave of 200 closures may only be the start. Goodbody Gaming analyst Gavin Kelleher told the BBC that Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfred could follow suit.

'We'll definitely see more closures, probably over 2,000 to 3,000 shops close in the UK, which is a big chunk of the 8,400 stores that are already open,' he said.

The Industry's Shifting Odds

The decline of high street betting is not solely down to regulation. According to the UK Gambling Commission, retail betting income fell from £3.3 billion in 2015 to £3.2 billion in 2018, while online betting surged from £4.2 billion to £5.6 billion during the same period.

Bookmakers were quick to pivot. With mobile apps offering instant access to roulette, poker and sports betting, the convenience of online gambling has pulled customers away from physical shops.

Former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, who led the FOBT reform, said it is too simplistic to blame policy alone.

'There was a huge over-inflation in the number of bookmakers on our high streets because of the profit-making capacity of FOBTs,' she explained. 'The truth is there has been consolidation within the industry and a drive from bookmakers themselves to cheaper online gambling for some time.'

An industry-funded KPMG report she cited predicted widespread closures even without the stake reduction.

Too Many Shops, Too Few Punters

For years, bookmakers expanded aggressively. UK law limits betting shops to four FOBT machines per branch but does not restrict how many branches a company can open in one area. The result was clusters of outlets competing for the same customers.

Staffing often failed to keep pace, leaving many shops with a single employee on duty. Business Rescue Expert has reported that this raised serious safety concerns.

Meanwhile, shifting public attitudes toward gambling have further damaged the industry. Addiction cases linked to FOBTs drew heavy criticism, and the slogan 'When the fun stops, stop' now feels painfully ironic as thousands of workers face job losses.

The Bigger Picture: A Market in Correction

William Hill's closures mark more than another round of cost-cutting. They highlight the end of an era for the British betting shop. As gambling goes digital, entire communities are losing fixtures that once dotted every high street.

The fallout extends beyond jobs. The horse-racing sector could lose about £30,000 per shop each year in levy payments previously made by bookmakers.

As Business Rescue Expert concluded, FOBTs may be the 'highly profitable epitaph for the high street bookmaker', but online gambling will continue to grow, bringing both opportunity and risk.

For now, the odds are stacked against the traditional betting shop. The market correction has arrived, and it shows no sign of slowing down.