As we have previously reported, fixed-odds betting terminals have been widely criticised about their high stakes and addictiveness, which turned them into one of the hottest topics in the local industry. Yesterday, the British daily newspaper The Guardian published an opinion piece related to the FOBTs, calling them “as addictive as computer games”.
According to The Guardian, the UK Treasury has strong doubts about the fixed-odds betting terminals’ review carried out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS). Due to the strong criticism aimed at the machines and the fact that their addictiveness was proved to be quite serious, the Department is expected to recommend a reduction of the FOBTs’ maximum bet.
Earlier this month, Casino Guardian has reported about the controversial opinions faced by the UK Government on the Chancellor’s attempt to stop the above-mentioned review. As previously revealed, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond considered the possible reduction of the maximum FOBTs stakes from £100 to £2 would be a serious blow to the country’s Treasury.
According to The Guardian’s opinion piece, FOBTs are surprisingly treated in local legislation as games of skill, allowing players to place a maximum bet of £100 every 20 seconds. However, absolutely no skill is required in playing them, as the game’s result does not depend on the player in any way. The British daily newspaper revealed that the FOBTs industry brings the local economy the massive amount of approximately £2 billion on an annual basis. It also represents more than 50% of the high-street betting outlets’ revenue and generates overall taxes of £400 million every year. However, the large contribution of FOBTs to the local economy also means hundreds of thousands of players who lose on the machines on a regular basis.
Also, the The Guardian editorial’s opinion piece points out that it is not only the large betting stakes that make fixed-odds betting terminals dangerous. The newspaper’s team consider their addictiveness as the more dangerous part, with the players’ attention and consciousness being fully occupied in order to keep them placing bets. This was exactly the reason why The Guardian called the fixed-odds betting machines as addictive as video games, commenting on the fact that it literally creates the same gaming environment with “frequent but never predictable rewards”.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sports was expected to present the results of its review back in June 2017, but it has postponed that until the autumn, with the results being expected to be officially announced in October at the earliest. Back in October 2016, a special consultation on the matter was released by the DCMS. As the machines have faced strong criticism lately, the UK Government has been considering to reduce the maximum stakes allowed to £2, with such a move being supported by a number of political parties, charities and gambling awareness and customer-protection organisations.
The review and the possible stake reduction has also faced a wave of opposition, since the large gambling operators in the country have objected to the proposal to protect the huge profits FOBTs bring to them. As mentioned above, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, also opposed to the review and its possible results, claiming that such a large reduction of fixed-odds betting machines’ would have a massive negative impact to the Treasury, stripping it of massive revenues.
- Author
Daniel Williams
