UK gambling operator Ladbrokes Coral has made 15 donations to British MPs, the BBC reported citing information from the UK Parliament’s official website. The major company has thus been placed as the most frequent donor, although it has not been the one to made the largest donations.
UK MPs are required to make regular declarations of the donations they are receiving, if these are worth over £300. Said donations could be in the form of gifts, hospitality, or other benefits.
As reported by the BBC, the latest such declarations were made at the end of August. Information released by the UK Parliament showed that Ladbrokes Coral has made 15 donations; four more donations have been made by other gambling industry shareholders.
The gambling operator has donated nearly £7,500 to four MPs, with those being Philip Davies, who has received eight donations worth a total of £3,685, Laurence Robertson with four donations worth £2,550, Thérèse Coffey with two donations worth £890, and Conor McGinn with a single donation of £350. MPs were treated with trips to the Cheltenham, Ascot, and Doncaster horse races, among other benefits and hospitality donations.
Here it is also important to note that Mr. Davies and Mr. Robertson are tightly connected with the UK gambling industry. The former currently chairs the Parliamentary All-Party Betting & Gaming Group, a group of Parliamentarians who are monitoring closely the UK gambling industry and are working with its stakeholders for the improvement of the conditions in which gambling services are provided.
As for Mr. Robertson, he is a joint Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Racing and Bloodstock Industries Group, which generally plays the same role as the Betting and Gaming Group with the British racing and bloodstock industries being its particular focus.
Pro-FOBTs Lobbyism
The UK government is conducting its triennial review of the state of the nation’s gambling industry. Last fall, when the probe commenced, UK MPs announced that it would be particularly focused on the highly controversial and broadly demonized fixed-odds betting terminals. The machines have drawn powerful opposition and have been under fire as opponents have been criticizing them for their addictiveness.
These opponents have been calling for a reduction in the maximum stake accepted by FOBTs. At present, customers can bet up to £100 every 20 seconds. It is yet to become known whether the maximum stakes allowed will be reduced. FOBTs opposition has proposed that wagers be lowered to just £2.
If such a major reduction takes place, operators like Ladbrokes Coral will be hit severely. The company’s UK retail business relies heavily on revenue from the controversial gambling machines. Ladbrokes Coral is currently the largest operator of betting shops in the UK. It owns over 3,500 such facilities, with those featuring thousands of FOBTs.
It is believed that the donations made by Ladbrokes Coral came as part of the operator’s efforts to convince lawmakers that a reduction of the maximum stake would be detrimental not just to their gambling revenue, but also to the industry as a whole and to the contribution it makes to related causes, including to British horse racing.
The government’s review is expected to be released in September or in early October. Although such a major reduction is not likely to be introduced by politicians, namely due to the highly unpleasant financial consequences that will ensue from it, there will probably be certain curbs.
The UK gambling industry has been criticized severely over the past several years for failing to implement stricter measures for preventing vulnerable customers from becoming gambling addicts. The latest instance of a UK-facing operator being scolded was the recent announcement by the UK Gambling Commission that it has fined an 888 Holdings subsidiary to pay the record amount of £7.8 million for not taking timely actions to solve technical issue that made it possible for customers that had chosen to exclude themselves from playing on its casino and sports betting platform to play on its bingo platform.
