Hancock's stance should make racing pause for reflection over dash for cash

If bookmakers had been betting on the government's final verdict on fixed odds betting terminals a new £2 maximum stake would, over time, have been slashed to red-hot favouritism.

This column made clear its position on the machines last week. In short, although it is to be deeply regretted that jobs will be lost as a result of £100 becoming £2, the government surely took the correct course of action, even if one might have expected and wanted a much more detailed timetable for implementation than was outlined.

Some might claim Theresa May's administration has exploited the FOBT debate to occupy what, for this or any government, is a rare luxury, namely a moral high ground. Others will argue, and almost certainly rightly so, that the moral case for £2 was so strong it simply had to be implemented.