William Hill has announced that it is to close 700 betting shops across the UK.
The closure of the high street bookmaker will leave 4,500 staff at risk.
In a statement the firm said: "William Hill has entered into a consultation process with retail colleagues over plans to close around 700 licensed betting offices."
They say that changes introduced in April to help those affected by problem gambling cut in the maximum stake on FOBTs to £2 is partially to blame.
It added in its statement: "This follows the Government's decision to reduce the maximum stake on B2 gaming products to £2 on 1 April 2019.
"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."
According to the Gambling Commission, William Hill had 2,282 betting shops in September last year.
"A large number of redundancies is anticipated with 4,500 colleagues at risk," William Hill said.
"The Group will look to apply voluntary redundancy and redeployment measures extensively and will be providing support to all colleagues throughout the process."
Closures are planned to begin by the end of the year.
It is not yet known how many in Greater Manchester are set to close.
