A cross-party group consisting of 30 Members of Parliament and peers has urged the Chancellor to keep the UK Government’s promise and officially roll out the planned £2 stake on local fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). Otherwise, the group said that it will seek an amendment to the Finance Bill.
Earlier in October, a cross-party group of Members of Parliament sent a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in order to provide him with more arguments in favour of the immediate implementation of the £2 maximum stake. The group cited a recent report of the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) that the amount lost by the UK Treasury as a result of the move’s delay will be in the range from £98 million to £132 million on an annual basis.
The @Cebr_uk's latest report shows that only the bookmakers will benefit from a delayed implementation of the £2 stake reduction. They are expected to earn between £348-£540 million more for each year of the delay in the implementation of the new maximum stake. #CutTheStakesNow
— FOBT APPG (@fobtappg) October 10, 2018
For the time being, no real actions have been taken in terms of the implementation of the new rules regarding the controversial gambling machines. In May 2018, the UK Government announced its decision to slash the FOBT maximum stake from £100 to £2 as part of its efforts to tackle the possible risks associated with gambling-related harm. Almost half a year later, the anti-gambling campaigners and the industry are waiting for something to happen.
FOBT Maximum Stakes Should Be Reduced as of April 1st, 2019
Of course, the losses which the UK Treasury will suffer due to the to new FOBT rules are not the only reason why the proponents of the stricter regulatory regime call for an immediate implementation of the new rules. Figures suggest that about 1.4% of all gamblers in the UK are actually gambling addicts, while 11.5% of regular FOBT customers become problem gamblers. Research has shown FOBT addiction could lead to serious damage to players’ mental and physical, and that an estimate two people commit suicide every working day in connection with gambling.
The charity organisation Gambling with Lives has revealed that the delay of the new FOBT rules implementation will see tens of thousands more young people to get addicted to gambling, with another 500 suicides related to gambling expected to be committed. The charity founders said that the Chancellor would be “morally bankrupt” in case that he continues to take the side of UK gambling businesses and allow them to make a profit at the backs of young people and more vulnerable individuals.
A shocking £3.6 billion has been lost on #FOBTs since the Government began to look into reducing the stake on these machines. The upcoming #Budget must set an implementation date of the reduced stake and this should be no later than April 2019 #CutTheStakesNow
— FOBT APPG (@fobtappg) October 17, 2018
At the same time, the pressure on Members of the Parliament has been increasing, especially with the families of those who have taken their own lives after losing the battle to gambling addiction. This is also why they have called for the Chancellor to take urgent actions and prevent any further delays of the new FOBT rules’ implementation, setting a date of commencement as of April 1st, 2019. According to the cross-party group, the necessary changes which are to be brought to the FOBT regime have been long kicked into the long grass. Anti-gambling campaigners said that the reduction of FOBT maximum stake should not be delayed until April 2020, as it would provide the gambling industry to continue generating profit on the backs of problem gamblers.
- Author
Daniel Williams
