The long-anticipated results from the UK Government’s probe into the highly controversial fixed-odds betting terminals are expected to be released this week by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The industry review was launched last October and was intended to find out whether curbs on the gaming machines should be introduced and what these should be.
At present, players can wager up to £100 every 20 seconds on the controversial gaming devices. The high-speed and high-limit action they offer make them highly addictive, and more and more stories about people losing massive amounts of money on FOBTs and suffering from gambling addiction have been surfacing over the past several years as a manifestation of the risks the controversial machines pose.
The gaming devices are located in betting shops across the UK. Currently, there are nearly 9,000 betting shops in different parts of the nation, and under UK gambling laws, each facility can feature up to four FOBTs. The machines first appeared in the early 2000s and quickly gained popularity among gambling customers. As a result, they became one of the main sources of retail revenue for bookmakers. Last year, FOBTs generated the amount of £1.8 billion in gross gambling yield.
Expected Crackdown
While the machines are highly valued by bookmakers, they have also been surrounded by clouds of negativity and the clouds have become particularly dark in recent years. Campaigners, gambling addicts who are blaming their condition on the controversial betting machines, and politicians, among others, have been calling for restrictions before things get completely out of control.
According to local media, UK Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, a long-time FOBTs opponent who has been tasked with leading the industry probe, will release the results this week and will propose the reduction of the maximum stake the machines accept.
While MPs have repeatedly pointed out that such a reduction was inevitable, it is still unclear by how much the maximum stake would be slashed. Unnamed sources cited by local media believe that Minister Crouch would present three new limits – £50, £20, and £2, and that MPs will have a twelve-week consultation period to decide on a final one.
The £2 betting limit would be highly applauded by campaigners who have long been calling for its implementation. However, it is believed this particular scenario is the least likely of all three. Such a massive reduction in the maximum stake would hit significantly bookmakers’ profitability, and would see a considerable decrease of the tax revenue contributed to the government.
The introduction of a £20 betting limit is believed to be the likely outcome, as it has been cited by many as one that would curb the machines to a certain extent but would still produce substantial revenue for the coffers.
There have been multiple campaigners who have argued that a reduction of the maximum wager would not be enough and that the controversial machines’ speed should also be limited. It is yet to be seen whether this would be taken into consideration by MPs.
