September 30, 2019 3.07 pm This story is over 66 months old

Bookies William Hill pulls out of Lincoln

The nearest shop is now in Gainsborough

This shop has closed. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite

Betting and gambling company William Hill has pulled out of Lincoln, closing its second shop in the city.

As previously reported, its two Lincoln shops were ask risk of closure by the end of 2019. A large number of redundancies were expected cross the country with 4,500 jobs at risk of getting cut.

William Hill previously blamed the move on the government after it reduced the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals to £2. It then entered a consultation process with retail colleagues over plans to close around 700 licensed betting offices.

As a result two Lincoln shops have closed, but William Hill have not yet responded to The Lincolnite regarding how many jobs have been lost in the city.

The William Hill store on Lincoln High Street closed back in August and a sign in the window said it had moved to Silver Street.

However, the Silver Street shop has now also closed. Posters in the window say “This shop has closed. Find your nearest shop at shop locator.williamhill”.

It’s the second William Hill to close in Lincoln. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite

William Hill has over 2,200 shops nationwide. The nearest shop to Lincoln is now around 15 miles away at the branch on Market Street in Gainsborough.

A spokesperson for William Hill said: “In July, William Hill announced that we had entered into a consultation process with retail colleagues over plans to close around 700 licensed betting offices.

“This follows the Government’s decision to reduce the maximum stake on B2 gaming products to £2 on April 1 2019.

“Unfortunately our shop two Lincoln shops are now uneconomic and have closed as a result of this. We are utilising redeployment and voluntary redundancy where possible and will provide full support to anyone impacted by redundancy.”

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