High Street bookmaker William Hill will close 700 betting shops across the UK, the company has said.
"William Hill has entered into a consultation process with retail colleagues over plans to close around 700 licensed betting offices," the firm said in a statement.
According to the Gambling Commission, William Hill had 2,282 betting shops in September last year.
William Hill has previously said up to 900 betting shops could be at risk of closure thanks to changes to the rules around fixed odds betting terminals .
The changes, designed to help those affected by problem gambling, cut the maximum stake on FOBTs to £2 on April 1.
"Since then the company has seen a significant fall in gaming machine revenues, in line with the guidance given when the Government’s decision was announced in May 2018," William Hill said.
"A large number of redundancies is anticipated with 4,500 colleagues at risk.
"The Group will look to apply voluntary redundancy and redeployment measures extensively and will be providing support to all colleagues throughout the process."
William Hill is expected to announce which stores will be closed over the next few months.
Shop closures are likely to begin before the end of the year, subject to the outcome of the consultation process.
Tom Blenkinsop, from betting shop workers union Community, said: “This is devastating news for thousands of betting shop workers. We will be advising our members through the consultation process."
He added: “The Government also has a role to play and must look at what support they can offer to workers whose jobs are threatened as a consequence of changes to the law around FOBTs.
“Betting shops provide an important source of local employment and many of our members have served the company loyally for many years.
"Workers don’t deserve to be the victims of the changes happening in the industry as a result of either government policy or the significant shift towards online gambling.”
.png?w=600)
