King's Lynn bookmakers Megabet closes down

A Lynn town centre bookie's shop has closed with the loss of five jobs.

Megabet, located on Broad Street, closed its doors to customers last week. A notice in the window reads: "We regret to inform you that as of Tuesday, 11th of June at 11am this shop will cease to trade. Any outstanding payouts can be collected from your local Betfred."

When the Lynn News contacted Megabet, a spokesman issued the statement: "The Broad Street shop was no longer commercially viable and was closed on June 11, regrettably with the loss of five jobs."

Earlier this year bookmakers had warned that their businesses would be seriously affected by the new UK gambling law which came into effect on April 1. This limited the maximum bet people can place on fixed-odds betting terminals from £100 to £2.

In January William Hill was reported as saying that it may have to close up to 900 stores over the next two years and this could affect 4,500 jobs.

Megabet was the new retail trading name for the UK bookmaker StanJames. It is a business which has been operating for more than 40 years on the British High Street and at one time had in excess of 90 shops.