UK gambling stocks drop after U.S. DOJ seeks tougher internet betting rules

(Reuters) - Shares of British betting companies, which have been pushing into the United States market because of tighter regulations at home, fell after the U.S. Department of Justice hinted at wider restrictions on all gambling on the internet.

UK bookies such as William Hill <WMH.L>, Paddy Power <PPB.I> and others were down between 1.9 percent to 3.8 percent on Tuesday after the U.S. regulator reversed its 2011 opinion that made only sports betting online illegal.

The regulator released a new opinion, dated Nov. 2, 2018 but only disclosed it on Monday.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)