Having recently won praise from various local government groups and prominent campaigners for its positive and proactive approach to responsible gaming, it now looks like the treasury has been persuaded by bookmakers to increase the transition period on maximum stake betting, hurting societies poorest and most vulnerable.
The Treasury has long had concerns about how curbing FOBTs would impact its intake of tax, whilst high-street bookmakers have asserted that reducing the maximum betting stake from £100 to £2 would cause their revenues to half and put increased pressures on the industry leading to loss of jobs and the closure of stores. So with both parties having a lot to lose, could this be the cause of such a lengthy delay?
High Stakes Game
With the Treasury and the gambling industry playing a very high-stakes game, the only people who seem to be losing are those who are trapped in a negative cycle and battling gambling addiction that can very quickly take hold.
Fixed-Odds betting terminals (FOBTs) have been described by Tom Watson’s deputy leader as having the ability to “ruin lives” and has criticised the government, accusing it of being “fundamentally weak” in its two-year delay to curbing these controversial machines.
FOBT’s differ from online slots, found at websites such as www.SlotGames.co.uk and have been likened to ‘crack cocaine’ with the power to completely ruin lives. [Read more…] about FOBT Off – Two years for a software update?
