William Hill plans to cut about a third of its betting shops and jobs in the UK after the British government slashed the maximum stake permitted on fixed-odds terminals, dubbed the “crack cocaine” of gambling by their critics.

William Hill plans to cut about a third of its betting shops and jobs in the UK after the British government slashed the maximum stake permitted on fixed-odds terminals, dubbed the “crack cocaine” of gambling by their critics.

Flutter Entertainment - the holding company of betting firms Paddy Power and Betfair - is unlikely to play a part in an expected fresh wave of consolidation in the UK online gambling sector.

British bookmaker Ladbrokes has seen a tough start to the year across its Irish operations, with horse racing results - particularly at last month's Cheltenham festival - going against it.

The owner of British betting shop chain Ladbrokes may move some of its computer servers, which facilitate its various online bingo, betting, and gaming services, to Ireland as a contingency measure in case of Britain crashing out of the EU with no transition deal in place.

Shares in leading betting companies which have been pushing into the US market because of tighter regulations in the UK, fell after the US Department of Justice called for wider restrictions on all gambling on the internet.

Competition in the Australian online betting services market, currently led by Paddy Power-Betfair, has intensified further with Ladbrokes-Coral owner GVC Holdings acquiring local player Neds International for a maximum A$95m (€60m).

The prospect of an increased tax on UK online gaming revenues represents a bigger threat to Paddy Power-Betfair than the enforcement of maximum restrictions on in-shop gaming machine betting, analysts have warned.

Paddy Power-Betfair shares fell by over 2%, before recovering, on analyst concerns that an expected surge in online revenue may not materialise and that competitors may outpace its growth.

Shares in Paddy Power-Betfair jumped by over 3% on the back of reports linking the Dublin-based betting and gaming services group with Australian online betting firm CrownBet, writes Geoff Percival.

The Irish division of UK betting services group Ladbrokes-Coral grew net revenue by 4% - to £19.8m (€21.5m) – in the first half of this year.

Paddy Power shareholders are in line for a fresh €80m windfall, via a special dividend payout, if the leading Irish betting services firm succeeds in its planned merger with UK-based online rival, Betfair.

Markets were mixed worldwide as negotiations to avert the US fiscal cliff continued.

Gaming firm Sportingbet today said wagers on sport events had taken a dive in its first quarter as the number of fixtures declined.

The Iseq Index began the week marginally ahead as concerns across Europe over economic growth outlook and Spain’s debt problems were temporarily set aside.

The London market started the fourth quarter strongly today as positive economic data from the US and renewed optimism over Spain’s banks boosted investor confidence.

Online gambling firm Sportingbet has snubbed a £350m takeover proposal from Britain’s biggest bookmaker William Hill, it was reported today.