The amount of money that UK players are spending on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) has considerably increased in spite of all the measures imposed on the industry and operators by the country’s Government.
The fixed-odds betting machines have recently provoked fierce debates and have made competent authorities express their concern related to the eventual negative consequences for customers. The FOBTs provide players with the chance to play various casino games and place a stake of up to £100 every 20 seconds. Both the Government and the regulatory authorities have taken some measures in order to reduce the harm inflicted to players. As part of this crackdown, they officially announced their intentions to minimise the maximum amount that could be placed as a bet on the machines at a time. Despite these measures, the amount lost on FOBTs has rose to £126 million over the past twelve months.
What is more, the number of people who eventually placed bets of £100 per spin of the machines has also increased, despite the measures introduced by the UK Government. According to the statistics, the number of games which see the first player’s spin amounting to the maximum amount of £100 has increased almost two times, and the sessions are lasting longer.
According to official figures released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), local players are now losing £1.8 billion on FOBTs on an annual basis, which accounts for about £5 million on a daily basis. The Campaign for Fairer Gambling group has also commented on the crackdown measures imposed on UK players by the country’s Government and competent authorities, by making a comparison between the results posted the 12-month periods before and after the Government measures have been imposed. The Campaign for Fairer Gambling group described the measures as unsuccessful, saying they had “failed spectacularly”.
The so-called “soft cap”, imposed by the competent authorities introduced a rule which did not allow players to place a stake of £50 or more at a time. It was first introduced in 2015 in an attempt to minimise the harmful effects of large-stake betting on fixed-odds betting terminals.
The new measures’ lack of success could spark new criticism of fixed-odds betting terminals, that could result on ever stricter measures being imposed on the tightly-regulated industry. What is more, the requirement for gambling operators to better interact with customers whenever they believe the latter could be put at risk of problem gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
