‘Crack cocaine’ betting machines face blitz after Hammond U-turn
MINISTERS are planning a clampdown on ‘ crack cocaine’ gambling machines after Chancellor Philip hammond backed down over the issue.
Fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) have long caused concerns among campaigners including the Church of england over the ‘devastating’ effects they have on users.
But the issue has caused a split between the Treasury, which fears losing the tax takings from bookmakers’ profits, and the department for digital, Culture, Media and Sport (dCMS).
Mr hammond now appears to have backed down after he confirmed that a long-awaited review of the betting industry’s use of the machines will be published this autumn.
Players can gamble away up to £18,000 an hour on FOBTs. They can be highly addictive, which is why they are known as the ‘crack cocaine of the gambling world’.
The Church has been outspoken in its opposition to the machines, with dr alan Smith, the Bishop of St albans, leading the criticism.
he said FOBTs are responsible for debt, the break-up of families and rising levels of violence. The bishop has urged the Chancellor to publish a review of the machines, which was begun by the dCMS.
he said users were ‘blowing huge amounts of money thinking this will solve things, something that requires them to perform the most extraordinary mental gymnastics’.
In his reply to the bishop, Mr hammond said that the review was proceeding and played down suggestions that the two departments had clashed over the issue, The Observer newspaper reported. ‘Recent media reports on the status of the review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures are entirely without foundation,’ Mr hammond wrote.
‘Both I and my department fully support dCMS’s work to ensure the UK’s gambling regime continues to balance the needs of vulnerable people, consumers who gamble responsibly, and those who work in this sector.’
last month, reports quoted Whitehall sources saying that the Treasury feared that cutting the stakes would prove ‘ financially crippling’ and wanted the review scrapped. Gambling addiction charities want the stakes on the roulette machines to be limited to £2. Currently, gamblers can play casino games with a stake of up to £100 every 20 seconds. The gambling industry is resisting attempts to limit the stakes.
The daily Mail has led the way in highlighting the harm caused by the machines, demanding action to protect the vulnerable.
a dCMS spokesman said: ‘The Government is undertaking a review of stakes and prizes of gambling machines, which includes FOBTs. It will be published in the autumn.’