Bookmakers William Hill have announced the imminent closing of 20 betting shops in Ireland. While the bookmakers’ 51 other Irish shops are not affected, employees at shops in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Tralee and Wexford have been put on notice that a two-month consultation process will commence in the new year. Will Hill spokespeople report that despite their best efforts, the shops in question “have not been trading profitably for some time.” Most of the blame for the closures is being laid at the feet of the slumping Irish economy and the government’s failure to “create a climate for growth.”
Of course, Will Hill may have simply been looking to preserve the safety of their employees, given the raft of bet shop robberies that have occurred in recent weeks. On Tuesday, two hooded men – one of them armed with a baseball bat — robbed a Ladbrokes shop in Whitley, making off with an undisclosed amount of cash from the shop safe. Gala Coral has had two of its shops robbed in the past week – one of these, in Blurton, carried out by three men armed with guns and knives. Another pair of gunmen held up a shop in Brighton late last month.
In related news, absolutely no one has found themselves in mortal peril from visiting any of the online betting sites currently in operation around the world. Well, unless your significant other has threatened to get out the rolling pin if you don’t shut off the damn computer and come to bed already…
