BETTING group William Hill has said it plans to close around 700 betting shops across the UK, with 4,500 jobs at risk.
The bookmaker, which has shops in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, and Ferndown, plans to begin shutting shops by the end of the year.
It is not yet known which shops will close.
The group warned a "large number of redundancies" are expected and it has begun consultation meetings with the affected staff.
William Hill blamed the closures on the government's decision to slash the maximum stake on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOTBs) to £2 in April, which has hammered bookmakers' sales.
On its store closure plans, the group said: "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."
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