Operators of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) are now bracing for a possible government clampdown after Chancellor Philip Hammond backed down over the issue.

The issue of clampdown, however, caused a division between the Treasure and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), according to The Guardian, after the former warned that the move will financially cripple the government.

Hammond had been a known ally of the gambling industry on the FOBTs – or so what the gaming operators thought.

In supposed letter to the Bishop of St. Albans, Hammond made a 180-degree turn on his earlier position that FOBTs are not responsible for debt, ruined homes, and rising levels of violence in the country.