According to new survey data released right before the long-awaited UK Government review of the local gambling industry, the gamblers in Central Bedfordshire spend approximately £6 million on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in twelve months only.
The machines, which offer a great variety of casino-style games, provide players with the opportunity to place a maximum bet of £100 every 20 seconds, which raises the amount that could be lost in an hour to £18,000. Since their implementation back in 2001, fixed-odds betting terminals became very popular among local players.
FOBTs in Central Bedfordshire
The high stakes offered by the machines, as well as their addictive nature have both long been put under fire by charity organisations, political parties and competent authorities, with all of them claiming that FOBTs have been directly related to the increasing number of gambling addictions in the country. The strong criticism has prompted a Government review into the industry, and more specifically, in fixed-odds betting terminals.
The opponents of the machines, including the Campaign for Fairer Gambling which released the latest figures on the matter, insisted that the maximum stake allowed on the fixed-odds betting terminals must be reduced to £2 in order to make sure FOBTs were also in line with the rest of the gaming machines in the UK.
Currently, there are a total of six betting shops in Central Bedfordshire, with them offering an overall number of 22 fixed-odds betting terminals.
According to the information released by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, the amount of cash inserted in the Central Bedfordshire machines totalled £5,736,964 in 2016. The campaign group also revealed that the amount gambled on these machines amounted to £30,841,918, while the amount lost exceeded £1 million. The overall amount lost in the 8—year period from 2008 to 2016 was estimated to £7,773,426.
Government’s Review for Responsible Gambling Industry
Alistair Burt, Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire, has been working on FOBTs-related issues for some time now. Mr. Burt explained that the UK Government would like to see a responsible gambling industry, where players are well-protected. He further reminded that the Government had already implemented a number of measures related to the machines, such as the introduction of a new requirement that players who access stakes larger than £50 on FOBTs must load cash by getting staff’s help or using account-based play.
MP Burt also explained that the UK Government is well-aware of the fact that more action is necessary in order for the right balance to be reached in the industry. He said that the review into the industry is primarily focused on fixed-odds betting machines and social responsibility measures because of the specific concerns caused by the terminals. According to Alistair Burt, the review is also aimed to give better perspective to the country’s authorities in terms of the steps that can now be taken for dealing with the problem.
It also became clear that an inquiry was also held by the Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals All Party Parliamentary Group and the presented findings are to also be taken into account as part of the review. The latter is expected to be officially rolled out in late October, after it has already been postponed earlier this year.
- Author
Daniel Williams
