Unemployed more likely to bet big
A UK organization called GambleAware has issued a report stating that seven compulsive gamblers lost £10,000 (US$12,360) in a single day over a 10-month period using fixed-odds betting terminals. News of the losses has sparked renewed criticism of FOBTs, which have been called “the crack cocaine of betting.”
Punters can bet a maximum of £100 per bet, and bets can be staked every 20 seconds under existing regulations, reported the website Yogonet.com. According to the report, 3 percent of all gamblers wagered £100 at least once, while those who staked the maximum typically did so more than once per session. And in several cases of “extreme outliers,” seven customers lost more than £10,000 within a few hours. One gambler lost £13,777.90, more than half the UK’s national average wage in less than eight hours of play.
High street bookies, who took in £1.7 billion in revenues from FOBTs in 2016, are required to intervene if they are concerned about a customer’s losses or the source of their funds. “Social responsibility requirements mean all operators must interact with customers where they believe they could be at risk of problem gambling, but also where any transactions could be linked to crime,” according to the UK Gambling Commission.
GambleAware said the newest report is “irrefutable” proof that gaming machines “are associated with harms.” The organization also found that problem gamblers and the unemployed are statistically more likely to place £100 bets than other players, as are loyalty card holders.
MP Carolyn Harris chairwoman of a group that recommends slashing the maximum stake on FOBTs to £2, asked why bookies are allowing such losses to occur, and added that cashiers should not be pressed into service as gambling counselors.
“Why should cashiers be forced to intervene? It’s above their pay grade,” Harris said. “There has to be a better way, such as having specialist individuals to deal with problem gambling.”
