‘Crack cocaine’ betting stakes may be cut to £20

THE maximum stake on ‘crack cocaine’ gambling machines could be cut to £20 after a Mail campaign.

Gamblers will no longer be able to bet a maximum £100 on the addictive fixedodds betting terminals (FOBTs) under plans to be unveiled this week.

The machines have long caused concern among campaigners including the Church of England over their ‘devastating’ effects.

Yesterday ministers bowed to pressure following warnings the machines in High Street bookmakers were destroying families and communities. Culture minister Tracey Crouch will announce proposals to limit how much can be spent on the machines, which allow gamblers to place bets of up to £100 every 20 seconds.

She will demand the cap of £100 is reduced by at least half. A figure between £2 and £50 is said to be under consideration.

While campaigners have pushed for the maximum to be as low as £2, if the cap is reduced only to £50 it would be seen as ministers giving in to the betting industry, which would consider the result a success. A further figure between £10 and £30 will also be considered, with £20 thought to be most likely.

A reduction to £2 would cost the Treasury £1billion in betting taxes by 2020. But the ‘status quo is not an option’, according to a Government source.

A review is expected to be published this week by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). However, that will not give a specific recommendation – instead putting forward a 12-week consultation to hear from bookmakers and campaigners.

Dr Alan Smith, the Bishop of St Albans, has said that he believes FOBTs, which can take up to £18,000 an hour, are responsible for debt, the break-up of families and rising levels of violence in some communities.

Earlier this month Tory MP Chris Philp, an aide to Chancellor Philip Hammond, called for a crackdown on the betting terminals. A study by the ResPublica think-tank found the UK was the only rich country allowing gamblers to stake £100 every 20 seconds on casinostyle games on the high street.

It warned that 1.5million Britons – one in 40 of the population – now use the machines and the terminals cause disproportionate harm to poorer areas.

The amount British gamblers lose on FOBTs has increased by 73 per cent since 2009, according to the Gambling Commission.

A report found the British gambling industry has profited from the growth of online games and the liberalisation of gambling laws under Labour.

The Gambling Act 2005, which was introduced by Tony Blair’s government, allowed the industry to balloon in size.

The issue of FOBTs previously caused a split between the Treasury, which feared losing the takings, and DCMS, which is responsible for the industry. Last month, Mr Hammond appeared to back down after he confirmed that a long-awaited review of the betting industry’s use of the machines will be published. But bookmakers are resisting attempts to limit the stakes – more than half of Ladbrokes’ profit comes from the terminals.

The Association of British Bookmakers said that curbing maximum stakes on FOBTs from £100 to £2 would seriously damage the industry and the economy.

But it is likely to have to yield, especially following criticism of its treatment of vulnerable customers after the firm 888 received a record £8million fine in August.

DCMS is expected to publish the review on Tuesday, after the stock market has opened, owing to the potential impact of its findings on gambling firms’ share prices.

The department’s final decision on the cap will have to be approved by Parliament. Bookmakers have indicated that they will not mount a legal challenge to the findings.

A Government source said: ‘The consultation will explore a range of options between £50 and £2.’

2million risk turning into gambling addicts Gamblers lose £5m a day on ‘crack cocaine’ bet machines From the Mail, August 25 (top) and May 26