A governmental review of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) has been postponed for later in 2017. The review is set to happen in October, since there has been certain disagreements on the matters concerning fixed-odds betting terminals’ regulation between the UK Government and the Treasury.
Recently, fixed-odds betting terminals have been put under a lot of criticism due to the fact they have been considered highly addictive. The review over the FOBTs is being conducted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) after the UK Government has revealed that thousands of pounds have been lost by local players as a result of the latter’s problem gambling behaviour. For example, in 2016 alone the amount lost by British players on fixed-odds betting terminals was estimated to the record £1.8 billion.
Up to date, there are over 34,000 fixed-odds betting terminals on the territory of the UK. They acount for annual taxes amounting to £400 million – a sum that UK Government can not afford to lose. This is exactly why it has previously expressed its concern about the impact that the reduction of fixed-odds betting terminals stakes would have on the revenue portion received from such operators.
The difference in the opinions of the UK Government and the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport has provoked the review’s delay, with the decision of the Government being further complicated by the fact that the Democratic Unionist party’s members of Parliament have given their support for the reduction of maximum FOBT stakes from £100 to as much as £2.
Of course, the claims of the DCMS that FOBTs are highly addictive have been fiercely disputed by local bookmakers. As mentioned above, many Democratic Unionist Party members have revealed that they are in favour of the reduction of the maximum stake of fixed-odds betting machines as they have strongly disapproved the concept of FOBTs. The Government, on the other hand, could be forced to agree to their concept in order for the majority to be kept.
According to Tracey Crouch, the Conservative minister who is also the DCMS Under Secretary, the process was really important when it came to fixed-odds betting terminals. Earlier, Ms. Crouch has expressed the frustration in the House of Commons that the FOBTs review would be postponed until October, saying that the general election was responsible for slowing parliamentary process down.
What the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is supposed to do is to make sure that the FOBTs review is based on enough evidence, and that all correct procedures have been followed.
Apart from official representatives of the DCMS and the Government, the Association of British Bookmakers has also expressed opinion on the matter. A spokesperson of the ABB shared that any decisions that affect such a large industry should be taken only on pure facts and evidence. According to the spokesperson, the industry currently serves approximately six million customers, and more than 52,000 people are employed there.
- Author
Daniel Williams
