Gambling operator GVC Holdings suffered a double-digit slump in its UK retail sales during the first half of 2019, blaming a recently-introduced £2 limit on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT).
The Labrokes and Coral owner reported a 10 per cent fall in like-for-like retail net gaming revenue (NGR) in its UK market, driven by a sharp drop in the second quarter of the year.
Yet in spite of tough comparatives against last year, when the Football World Cup spurred on betting, the bookmaker enjoyed a 17 per cent growth in its online NGR, boosting overall group revenues to to a five per cent rise compared with the first half of 2018.
However, in the UK the firm was dented by a cut in the maximium stakes on FOBT to £2, which resulted in a 39 per cent year-on-year fall in like-for-like machines revenue.
“Part-substitution of this displaced revenue into sports-betting helped drive OTC (over-the-counter) wagers eight per cent ahead of last year,” the high street bookmaker added.