HUNDREDS of Ladbrokes and Coral betting shops could be closed this year after a boom in online gambling during the pandemic.
Bookies have been classed as “non-essential” retailers during the coronavirus outbreak so have been closed during national lockdowns but customers could still have a flutter online.
Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain said in its annual results this week that online earnings from customers betting through its smartphone apps and websites were up 50% as users shifted online during the pandemic.
Rob Wood, chief financial officer of Entain, said he expected most customers would return to stores once lockdown restrictions but said there will be some closures.
He told analysts: “We look at around 100 closures per year n the UK off a starting point of 3,000 or so.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if we see two or three years of closures come into one this year.”
Mr Wood said customers still like the social side of going to the bookies and watching sport on the TV with their mates.
He added: “In the UK we got within single digits of where we were pre-Covid last summer.
“We are hopeful that most of our customers will come back
“There may be more closures but no fundamental restructuring.”
Entain still managed to post profits of £174.7million in 2020 despite lockdown restrictions on store openings.
It reversed a 2019 loss of £164.4million.
The Sun has asked Ladbrokes and Coral where the closures could be and how many jobs will be affected.
We will update the story once we have a response.
Betting shops will be able to reopen from April 12 under Boris Johnson’s plans to ease the nation out of lockdown.
The Prime Minister revealed his roadmap out of lockdown last month, with non-essential stores able to welcome customers back from mid-April.
Bookies such as Ladbrokes and William Hill have previously shut stores in response to a crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals.
The amount of money punters can place on fixed-odds betting terminals – electric machines with the likes of roulette, blackjack, and bingo – dropped from £100 to £2 in 2019.
Read the full rules on when “non essential” shops can reopen.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk