Gamblers lose £5m a day on ‘crack cocaine’ bet machines
GAMBLERS lost a record £1.8billion on ‘crack cocaine’ betting machines last year – or nearly £5million a day.
The total for the year up to the end of September 2016 was £57million higher than the Gambling Commission’s last update in November.
The figures come amid expectations that the Government will unveil a crackdown on fixed- odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in the next few months.
The highly addictive machines – whose pernicious impact has been highlighted by the Daily Mail – allow players to stake up to £100 every 20 seconds on casino games such as roulette. Campaigners want the maximum stake reduced to £2.
The new figures show that across all forms of gambling, punters lost £13.8billion last year, up from £13.4billion in the last update, which covered the year to the end of March 2016.
The amount lost on FOBTs has increased by 73 per cent since 2009, despite the number of machines rising by only 9 per cent over the same period to 34,388. It indicates punters are increasing the amount they bet.
Each machine brought in around £52,887 a year, about twice the national average wage, according to the figures.
The Campaign for Fairer Gambling told The Guardian: ‘ The bizarre experiment to allow high- stakes, high- speed roulette in betting shops is delivering huge profits for the bookmakers at the expense of an even greater cost to society and the economy. More jobs would be created if money lost on FOBTs was spent elsewhere.’
The Association of British Bookmakers said: ‘The increase in revenue from gaming machines in betting shops of 3
‘Spiralling out of control’
per cent [compared with the last report] is in line with the average growth in revenue across the whole of the gambling industry [3 per cent] and growth in the economy as a whole.’ A spokesman added: ‘To put the growth in gaming machines revenue in context, the figures show a 20 per cent increase in revenue in casinos, a 7 per cent increase in lotteries (other than the National lottery) and a 5 per cent increase in online revenue.’
Bookmakers say thousands of jobs and billions in taxes could be lost if FOBTs are restricted.
Carolyn Harris, who is standing for re- election as Labour MP for Swansea East, said: ‘Losses on FOBTs are spiralling out of control. Every year more and more is lost on these addic- tive machines, so the next government must act to reduce the maximum stake to £2 a spin.’
The industry review, by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is widely expected to recommend new curbs when it is published after the election.
Industry insiders expect FOBT stakes will be cut to between £10 and £20.
The Gambling Commission figures showed the total lost on internet gaming climbed from £4.2billion to nearly £4.5billion, while the National Lottery declined slightly, from £3.4billion to £3.2billion.