[News] Betting William Hill.

[Leekbrookgull]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48868335 No doubt they will maintain an online operation ?

 

[Superphil]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48868335 No doubt they will maintain an online operation ?

No doubt they’ll maintain their high street presence in their remaining 1500 or so ‘shops’.

 

[Durlston]

It's a bit of a concern if you don't bet online and only enjoy a flutter on the football, horses, tennis and cricket regularly.

The f*cking Government will lose thousands of staff their jobs. If you want to bet £100 a spin on roulette or however much it was, why shouldn't you? We live in a democratic country. There's always help for problem gamblers. Compared to other addictions, there's strong support and self-exclusion for vulnerable gamblers. Since April, bookmakers have become eerily quiet with their shops just customed by over-the-counter horse racing Lucky 15 bets.


Even more reason to hate the Tories. What next can they f*ck up after Brexit and now this? Haywards Heath are rumoured to be losing two of their four betting shops in a few months. More bloody coffee shops?

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

If you acquire large numbers of established betting shops from the time FOBT's were becoming more popular, solely for the purpose of having a bigger high st presence of the FOBT market and not OTC (over the counter) business, then inevitably it's going to come back and bite you on the arse big time when your Golden Goose is taken to the slaughter House! A large number of betting shops made their profits not from sports books but via the machines, so betting shops are now going back to their core business of sports betting ( hooray). The betting industry introduced FOBT's through the back door in response to the government allowing punters to become 'Bookies' without a licence on the Betfair platform. They immediately saw this as a threat to the industry and needed to protect their revenues. This was not just Hills but Ladbroke, Corals and BetFred. As an aside, when they first came onto the scene FOBT's were unregulated by the industry and you could stake as much as you liked and it wasn't until a few years later that the government stepped in and introduced regulations.

 

[Bozza]

It's a bit of a concern if you don't bet online and only enjoy a flutter on the football, horses, tennis and cricket regularly.

Is it really a concern? They are bloody everywhere and most people still won't be too far from one.

In Worthing there are five William Hills, including two in the town centre that are about a two-minute walk apart.

For reasons that matched bettors may be familiar with, I visited a few of them on a couple of occasions three or four months ago prior to the change in FOBT stakes, and they really are desperate places. The old chaps sat around watching race 7 from Crayford, each with their 20p reverse forecasts on. I can see the bookie acts as a bit of a social hub for these gentlemen.

Beyond these older sorts though, there would be people slipping in and out quite clearly in many cases spending money they couldn't afford to lose on the FOBT machines. I dread to think of some misery that would result from these losses.

I hope this change in legislation extends online too, where it's still possible to bet £100, or more, on a single spin of a fruit machine, or "slot" as they are called. There is no reason why anyone needs to bet £100 at a time on a spin of a fruit machine.

 

[boik]

I've been in bookmakers twice. They seem to be the most miserable depressing places in the world. Seems very cynical that they target the most deprived areas.

 

[A1X]

It's a real shame for the people losing their jobs and I hope they find alternative work soon.

To literally anyone else complaining about the rule change or the shop closures, I say simply this;

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I find bookies shops extremely handy. They nearly all have toilets. Just peruse the board for a few seconds , pretending to be a punter, then ask for the key. Bingo. Went in one recently and the manager was fuming. The last occupant had gone off with the key and there was no spare.

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

I managed a Hills the day it was the first in the country to take £1000 in an fobt...Security had to come down as they thought i’d punted the float!

They were sposed to be for punters to dabble with in between races but snowballed into the life-wreckers they became very quickly....

The bookies tactics of free play competitions with real money credit to the ‘winners’ nothing short of a drug dealer giving a potential addict a free sample...horrible people

Good riddance

 

[Simster]

[MENTION=14168]Durlston[/MENTION] , just to echo what [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] said, it really is hardly a concern is it? There are WAY too many bookies on our high streets and William Hill are the worst of all of them. They don't offer anything for their punters - the only high street bookie not to offer Best Odds Guaranteed, and the only high street bookie not to pay out on first past the post (if a stewards enquiry overturns your win, they won't pay out).

They are absolutely gash. Good riddance. I hope the number of Corals dramatically falls next. Freds and Paddys in particular offer FAR better value than anyone else.

 

[GOM]

It's a bit of a concern if you don't bet online and only enjoy a flutter on the football, horses, tennis and cricket regularly.

The f*cking Government will lose thousands of staff their jobs. If you want to bet £100 a spin on roulette or however much it was, why shouldn't you? We live in a democratic country. There's always help for problem gamblers. Compared to other addictions, there's strong support and self-exclusion for vulnerable gamblers. Since April, bookmakers have become eerily quiet with their shops just customed by over-the-counter horse racing Lucky 15 bets.


Even more reason to hate the Tories. What next can they f*ck up after Brexit and now this? Haywards Heath are rumoured to be losing two of their four betting shops in a few months. More bloody coffee shops?

I managed a Hills the day it was the first in the country to take £1000 in an fobt...Security had to come down as they thought i’d punted the float!

They were sposed to be for punters to dabble with in between races but snowballed into the life-wreckers they became very quickly....

The bookies tactics of free play competitions with real money credit to the ‘winners’ nothing short of a drug dealer giving a potential addict a free sample...horrible people

Good riddance

a little difference of opinion.

 

[Ernest]

All Worthing Hills shops will be closed.
Boundary Road in Portsalde closed
George St near Cliftonville closed
Western Road opposite Waitrose closed
St.James St closed
Only Hills left open will be Queens Road next to Sainsburys

I feel sorry for all the staff sacked this morning by a recorded answerphone message

 

[dejavuatbtn]

The irony is that these and charity shops seem to be the only “shops” left on the high street. Still, perhaps some will go to social housing so those currently sitting outside on the street can get somewhere to live.

 

[blue-shifted]

I never get why bookies and charity shops are so commonly used in the same sentence to talk about failing high streets. Charity shops are undeniably fantastic institutions, both for environmental reasons, the positives that the volunteering brings to the people who work there and the fact that you get incredible bargains. Everything I’m currently wearing and certainly everything my kids wear (and most of their toys) came from one. Bookies on the other hand don’t really fulfil much of a social purpose. In 5 years there will be way fewer in my opinion.

Just to add to this, I’m sorry for those losing their jobs, you need a decent range of skills, to work in those shops, good mathematical ability and good customer service skills, so I’m hopeful they will be able to get themselves something else.

The irony is that these and charity shops seem to be the only “shops” left on the high street. Still, perhaps some will go to social housing so those currently sitting outside on the street can get somewhere to live.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I feel sorry for all the staff sacked this morning by a recorded answerphone message

Redundancies, so they'll be walking away with a little bit of cash but not massively. There was a 9am conference call this morning and anyone invited to it was given the redundancy message. I don't know if it was a recorded message though - that would be outrageous, someone could at least front up and explain the decision.

It is quite a clear case of the industry reacting to the gaming machines stake change. At some point it will be changed back to £100 per spin again, and they'll all be back. Speaking from personal experience, I wish the £2 limit was in much sooner. I understand the argument about being a free country, etc - but the number of lives ruined by the option of staking £100 per spin far outweighs any opposing arguments for me.

 

[Whitechapel]

Redundancies, so they'll be walking away with a little bit of cash but not massively. There was a 9am conference call this morning and anyone invited to it was given the redundancy message. I don't know if it was a recorded message though - that would be outrageous, someone could at least front up and explain the decision.

It is quite a clear case of the industry reacting to the gaming machines stake change. At some point it will be changed back to £100 per spin again, and they'll all be back. Speaking from personal experience, I wish the £2 limit was in much sooner. I understand the argument about being a free country, etc - but the number of lives ruined by the option of staking £100 per spin far outweighs any opposing arguments for me.

The argument that fixed odd machines needed nerfing to help problem gamblers is no different to saying pubs should only be allowed to serve half pints of Shandy because some people have a problem with booze.

I feel sorry for anyone with a gambling problem, it’s a brink I’ve teetered on myself, but costing thousand of people their jobs to bail out people with addictive personalities is ludicrous imo.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

The argument that fixed odd machines needed nerfing to help problem gamblers is no different to saying pubs should only be allowed to serve half pints of Shandy because some people have a problem with booze.

That's a shit analogy.

It is illegal for a publican to keep serving somebody who has had too much to drink...

 

[Billy Seagull]

Feel sorry for the staff but the company is rancid, as are all the shysters. These jokers won’t let me bet online and when I started using the East Sussex & Brighton shops they soon limited me to £25 a bet, what a joke. This is without winning fortunes and betting at odds between evens and 2/1. I now have to travel to London to get a decent amount on which is a bit of a pain but an occupational hazard. It’s fun being on the commuter train in my t shirt and shorts in amongst all the suits but a bit unnecessary really given they are one company.


The London shops are far busier than the Sussex ones so hoping that not too many on my route of shops are closing.

Beard accounts getting less and less useful too as once you appear to have a tiny edge they don’t want to know.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Is it really a concern? They are bloody everywhere and most people still won't be too far from one.

In Worthing there are five William Hills, including two in the town centre that are about a two-minute walk apart.

For reasons that matched bettors may be familiar with, I visited a few of them on a couple of occasions three or four months ago prior to the change in FOBT stakes, and they really are desperate places. The old chaps sat around watching race 7 from Crayford, each with their 20p reverse forecasts on. I can see the bookie acts as a bit of a social hub for these gentlemen.

Beyond these older sorts though, there would be people slipping in and out quite clearly in many cases spending money they couldn't afford to lose on the FOBT machines. I dread to think of some misery that would result from these losses.

I hope this change in legislation extends online too, where it's still possible to bet £100, or more, on a single spin of a fruit machine, or "slot" as they are called. There is no reason why anyone needs to bet £100 at a time on a spin of a fruit machine.

Absolutely this. It is also incredibly easy to accidentally change stake on online slots withe the Max bet button often next to the spin button

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Feel sorry for the staff but the company is rancid, as are all the shysters. These jokers won’t let me bet online and when I started using the East Sussex & Brighton shops they soon limited me to £25 a bet, what a joke. This is without winning fortunes and betting at odds between evens and 2/1. I now have to travel to London to get a decent amount on which is a bit of a pain but an occupational hazard. It’s fun being on the commuter train in my t shirt and shorts in amongst all the suits but a bit unnecessary really given they are one company.


The London shops are far busier than the Sussex ones so hoping that not too many on my route of shops are closing.

Beard accounts getting less and less useful too as once you appear to have a tiny edge they don’t want to know.

Are you trading or punting?