Shares in betting firms plunge over possible £2 max bet

[The Buzz]

According to an article in The Guardian, shares in gambling companies have plunged in value by "hundreds of millions of pounds" after the industry regulator said it would consider slashing the maximum allowable stake on online casino games to £2.

From the article:

The Gambling Commission’s chief executive, Neil McArthur, told a cross-parliamentary group of MPs (APPG) investigating the harm caused by betting that it would consider their proposal to cut stakes over the next six months.

When markets learned of his comments on Thursday morning, investors in bookmakers and online casino firms staged a sell-off.
William Hill fell nearly 8%, while Ladbrokes Coral’s owner, GVC, and the gambling software firm Playtech were both down 7%. Rivals such as Flutter and 888 fell by smaller amounts.

Between them, UK gambling firms’ stock market value fell by more than £500m.

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said: “We said last October that we would be looking at online stake limits as part of our ongoing work to reduce the risks of gambling-related harm. This work is in addition to us focusing on VIP practices, advertising technology and game design. We will publish our assessment and next steps for online stakes and further protections later this year.

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/...online-casinos

[cantona07]

This was inevitable really. I agree with the £2 a spin in bookies too. I know a couple of girls that work in them and it can be quite frightening apparently seeing how some people respond to losing big on the machines