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howard
05 Oct 26 18:36
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Date Joined: 09 Mar 03
| Topic/replies: 17,329 | Blogger: howard's blog
Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has written to Burnham saying it would have to make job cuts across its nationwide estate of 2,300 shops, were the policy to go ahead. Casinos and bingo halls are in the firing line too. Rank Group, which owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, cautioned that a third of its venues could close, affecting 2,000 staff.

Last year, AGCs managed to increase their takings from £528m to £613m by packing more machines into larger venues.

So if slot machines taxes go up, in theory AGCs are best placed to survive the impact. The AGC operator Merkur has already offered to buy some of the 132 shops that Betfred put up for sale, indicating it is unruffled by the prospect of a tax rise. If others follow suit, just as bookies retrench, an MGD rise could simply lead to bookies being replaced by 24-hour slot farms.

As Treasury officials weigh up duty rises, they will have to consider the law of unintended consequences.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/opinion/comment/another-tax-rise-looms-but-it-wont-get-rid-of-the-slots-it-will-just-hand-the-high-street-to-the-arcades-aEHgj3B0pMys/
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Report ronnie rails • October 5, 2026 6:51 PM BST
I left at 4 today what the fobts made today would not pay for 4 for breakfast  at the Ivy otc 150 bets for 600 quid.
Very very sat .
Ronnie.
Report Cider • October 5, 2026 7:05 PM BST
unintended consequences

that's a lol
Report howard • October 7, 2026 2:36 PM BST
if tax doubles thousands of betting offices close  thousands of AGC's open   share price goes down ? ( because of the tax )  bit of an opportunity ?  ( not my area of expertise )
Report chewy11 • October 7, 2026 3:15 PM BST
Would you accept a £500 bet on horse, golfer or any other sport at 6/1, Ronnie without having to make a call & what would the likely answer be?
Report ronnie rails • October 7, 2026 3:27 PM BST
Chewy.
A 500 bet would not through the till it would be blocked and unblocked after ptl had looked at it.
Hope you are well.
Ronnie.
Report Fashion Fever • October 7, 2026 3:57 PM BST
shops seem very busy midday
beyond me that there open till 9 at night, no one in them after 5pm
Report Busyfool • October 7, 2026 4:00 PM BST
chewit avinagirraffe shorely
Report chewy11 • October 7, 2026 4:19 PM BST
Not sure what that means, Ronnie.

I'm not havingh a laugh, Busy. I've not had a bet in shop in years so I wouldn't know. I suspect the answer is, it would get refused.

I feel sory for the employees that will lose their jobs if the shops close.  It's a bit like an Off Licence not selling Beer & Cider only Wine & Chanpagne & complaining they've no sales, from the companies.
Report Ramruma • October 7, 2026 5:02 PM BST
Racing's funding crisis won't play well with the government if Andy Burnham reads the Racing Post's coverage of multi-million guineas purchases at Tattersalls this week. Crisis, what crisis?
Report Cider • October 7, 2026 5:05 PM BST
He'd be better off reading the gilts charts.
Report Busyfool • October 7, 2026 5:29 PM BST
that is entirley separate and bears no relation to reality. which makes it a just like crash n burnhams incoming calamity, after the starmer drama

he wouldnt ever read it himself but one of the bugtank might bring it up as an example of obscene, disgusting, etc.....

the head towelhead brute spunking the states noney for his own pleasure must delight the camel herders in the gold-plated khazi
Report impossible123 • October 7, 2026 7:58 PM BST
Most of the betting these days is done online. I can also understand the importance of the high street betting shops for some punters outside betting, and is getting a bad press from non-gamblers and some politicians including PM Burnham I do not think it's correct to group them alongside vape shops and other gaming shops.

I believe the betting shops without the fobt machines will be accepted on the high street and society including yours truly. Without fobt machines the shops will also get a better press, and old-fashined punters would return too. The fobt players are a massive put-off for some of this group of punters. I'm one.

The ball is in the court of the betting shop owners - not the government. In some ways I'm glad there's a drop in the sponsorship of races by the bookies. I hope other non-betting entities could take up this slack vacated by bookies.
Report leif • October 7, 2026 9:10 PM BST
Having no machines in the betting shops would have seen them practically wiped out well before now.
If you believe they would survive without the guaranteed income derived from the fo00king things, you're very mistaken.
Report swiftynifty • October 7, 2026 9:36 PM BST
I'd let them serve alcohol. Mini sports bars.  Grown-ups are allowed to drink and allowed to bet after all. I vaguely remember they had live numbers games in pubs back in the 90s. Don't recall all carnage breaking lose back then. It would certainly give them a chance to survive. Won't happen under this government.
Report impossible123 • October 8, 2026 7:28 AM BST
I'd not want high street bookies to serve alcohol of any kind. There are many other outlets doing that already eg pubs, corner shops, restaurants and supermarkets. I do not want to see one ill being eradicated, and another to flourish; cafes do not serve alcoholic drinks either why should bookies?

Bookies ought to do what they are licensed to do eg take bets. At the moment bets are being restricted, and bookies are operating as casinos on the high street. Some major and very successful countries do not permit gambling in public let alone fobt machines. Even our closest neighbour, Ireland, have banned fobt machines several decades ago.

I'd like to see every fobt machine removed immediately. The bookies will need to adjust accordingly and be creative. I understand there will be the inevitable job losses. This is always likely whenever there's a change in consumer sentiment and government policy. This is not bookie specific.

As they are bookies are not providing a service one can get online. Their head honchos will need to 'cut the cloth to suit' and start to earn their renumerations for a change. The golden goose is dying like the horseracing in the UK. As it's the bookies will not be missed on the high street streets.
Report 1st time poster • October 8, 2026 9:28 AM BST
wasnt there a big increase in sponsorship for the derby last yr ?
so isnt their bound to be a drop off in lasrt 12 months
Report howard • October 8, 2026 11:22 AM BST
If nearly all betting shops close will there be more money on here ?  Maybe a bit.
Report howard • October 8, 2026 2:02 PM BST
" cafes do not serve alcoholic drinks either why should bookies?"    maybe cos bookies have a minimum age in place.
Report 1st time poster • October 8, 2026 3:59 PM BST
just got back from filling the car up,bloke next to me in PUMP 3 put a tenners worth in, i said jesus mate where you hoping to get to   with that  ?
he shouted back PUMP 4 LaughLaugh
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