The Sunday Mail last week revealed that fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) at Scotland’s racetracks are earning bookies more money than racing, about £1.5 billion last year, or slightly more than half of the betting shops’ profits.
According to Adrian Parkinson of Campaign for Fairer Gambling, quoted by the Daily Record, “In the last few years, we’ve seen a switch in focus by bookmakers from what should be their core product of horse and sports betting to casino gaming.”
Parkinson added, “FOBTs have brought guaranteed revenue with fixed margin casino games and the bookmakers are now pushing customers away from traditional betting products on to the machines.” About 4,000 such machines are operating in Scotland.
The machines are also criticized by many politicians who would prefer to remove them from racetracks. Some would like to limit the stake that can be wagered on the machines from £100 each game to £2 per spin.
Betting shops are being impacted by the rise of online betting in the United Kingdom where an estimated 2,000 such sites operate. Some estimates are that 70 percent of Scottish adults wager in one form or another.
The Association of British Bookmakers estimates that 60 percent of customers bet over-the-counter, with FOBTs accounting for the balance.
