The UK horseracing industry has joined the chorus of voices urging the government not to slash maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) to £2.

Over the weekend, UK media reported that Matthew Hancock, the recently appointed secretary of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), was in favor of cutting FOBT maximum stakes from their current £100 to just £2 when the government’s three-month consultation period concludes on Tuesday.

Monday saw share-price carnage for London-listed betting operators with a large high-street retail footprint. William Hill led the decliners, falling 11.6% to 297.2p after sinking as low as 285p earlier in the day. Ladbrokes Coral Group was down nearly 8% to 168p. Paddy Power Betfair, which has less of a high street presence and supports a steep stake cut, fell 2% on the day.

Online operator GVC Holdings, which is working on a deal to acquire Lads Coral, fell 1.2% to 926.5p after dipping to 885p in early trading. Investors eventually remembered GVC structuring the deal to ensure a lower top-up payment should the FOBT curb prove too harsh.