ABB dismisses 'baseless' complaints to financial watchdog

Bookmaker representatives have described as "baseless" complaints by campaigners to the financial watchdog that two firms had created a "false market" in their shares.

The Financial Times reported last week that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had been asked to investigate whether Ladbrokes Coral and William Hill had disseminated misleading information about the effects of a cut in the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals.

The newspaper said the Campaign For Fairer Gambling (CFFG) had written to the FCA over the use by the two companies of information from an unpublished report by KPMG commissioned by the Association of British Bookmakers.