British betting shops are poor relations of our own
Plan to dramatically cut stakes on machines is another nail in coffin
Bookmakers’ shares fell last month arising from a report that British culture secretary Matt Hancock was considering a cut to the maximum bet on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2.
State interventions so dramatic are a rare thing indeed. There are roughly 9,000 betting shops in Britain and each shop has four FOBTs (read slot machines) generating weekly an average of just under £1,000 profit.
Certainly, shops will close if Hancock ...