In the UK, the controversy over fixed odds betting terminals continues as Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely recently became the latest official to demand the government reduce the maximum bet allowed per-bet on the machines. Seely said, “FOBTs are causing addiction and misery and the sums bet on these machines, just on the Island, are quite frankly staggering and an enormous cause for concern. There is plenty of evidence that the many tens of thousands of these terminals across the country are doing significant harm. This is unacceptable. The betting industry needs to be better regulated on the use of these machines, which have driven vast profits for them over the last decade.
“I do understand that the industry contributes to the economy and employs many people, but I feel it has not done enough to stop problem gambling. Government needs to intervene. I’m pleased the government is reviewing their use and I very much hope it will cut the stakes drastically,” Seely said. His constituency alone lost an estimated £2.9 million ($3.83 million) on FOBT’s last year.
Currently bettors may place bets of up to £100 ($132) at a time on FOBTs , but demand is increasing to reduce that amount by 98 percent to just £2 ($2.64). The government will announce its final decision in October.
A report recently identified FOBTs as one of the main causes of problem gambling, which increased in the UK between 2012 and 2015. Meanwhile, pressure continues to grow, as the Bishop of St. Albans and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith also called for stakes to be reduced recently.
Bookmakers oppose any changes regarding the machines. Barclays estimated Ladbrokes would lose £439m ($580 million) and William Hill would lose £288m ($380 million) if the rates are cut.
In the Southend area, Councillor Julian Ware-Lane said the gambling industry targets young and low-income people with the placement of FOBTs. “They are chasing profits, so they will put them where they will get the most income, which I have noticed correlates to low income areas. Sighting these machines near to high concentrations of young people is a very cynical thing to do. If you stick an FOBT in a place near where young people are, like a university or college, I think that is targeting them. It’s like sticking a sweet shop next to a school; whether or not a lot of people are in there, it’s certainly planting the idea that it’s acceptable in their mind,” Ware-Lane said.
According to a Southend gambling awareness charity, Stop the FOBTs, gamblers had lost an estimated of £47.9 million ($63.24 million) in Southend between 2008 and 2016 and a total of £7.075 ($.934 million) in 2016 alone.
However, a spokesman for the Association of British Bookmakers said, “The ABB does not recognize these figures which merely represent a rough calculation based on national figures and do not reflect the position in Southend. The ABB strongly encourages all those engaging in gambling activities to gamble responsibly and in Southend bookmakers employ more than 150 highly trained staff to provide help to anyone getting into difficulties with their gambling.”
