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Shares in the UK’s two biggest betting firms, William Hill and Ladbrokes, dropped 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively, Thursday following Prime Minister David Cameron’s assertion that fixed-odds machines need to be curbed.
The machines have been dubbed the “crack cocaine of gambling” by campaigners.
Cameron said he "absolutely shares the concerns" raised over the “epidemic” of fixed-odds terminals.
"There are problems with the betting and gambling industry and we need to look at them," Cameron said on Wednesday. "If we work together we can probably sort it out.”
More than £400m has been wiped off the market value of William Hill and Ladbrokes following Cameron’s comments.
"Regulatory change has always been the key driver of sentiment toward the gambling sector," Barclays said in note.
The machines are estimated to account for nearly 40 percent of Ladbrokes earnings.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
