Employees of British bookmaker Betfred are bracing for the possible impact of UK’s policy on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which is expected to be announced this week.

SkyNews reported that at least 4,500 Betfred workers are at risk of losing their jobs should the UK government decide to impose a new maximum stake limit of £2 ($2.70) on FOBTs. At present, the maximum stake on FOBTs stands at £100 ($135.08).

Betfred Managing Director Mark Stebbings pointed out the government can only blame itself for the possible mass layoff since the firm will be left with no choice but to close almost 900 of its loss-making betting shops to stop a potential financial bleeding once the FOBT reform is implemented.

In a letter to members of the home affairs sub-committee, Stebbings offered a compromise that will see a more reasonable reduction of FOBT stake between £20 ($27.02) and £30 ($40.52).The Betfred executive estimated that the company stands to lose £50 million ($67.54 million) should the ministers insist on slashing the FOBT stake limit.