Gambling bosses in last-ditch bid to stop blitz on ‘crack cocaine’ machines
GAMBLING chiefs were accused of scaremongering last night after they tried to scupper a crackdown on addictive betting machines by warning it could devastate the industry.
Culture Secretary Matt Hancock is poised to cut the £100 maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £2 in a bid to stop a tide of addiction, debt, violence, and family breakdown.
In a last ditch bid to protect the lucrative machines – which generate an average of £50,000 a year each and are known as the crack cocaine of gambling – bookmakers’ bosses have written to Theresa May and every Cabinet minister.
Their letter warns of ‘ unintended and potentially harmful consequences’ from a cut to £2 and says the stake should be set at £30.
They claim a cut to £2 is ‘disproportionate’ and would cause 21,000 job losses, result in the closure of half of betting shops, and lose the Treasury £1.1billion over three years.
The letter will raise concerns that bookmakers could launch a legal challenge against the decision.
But last night critics attacked the claims. A spokesman for campaigners Fairer Gambling accused the bookmakers of ‘scaremongering’.
He argued that the losses predicted would not be anything like as bad because many punters would switch to safer forms of gambling instead of playing roulette and other casino- style games on FOBTs. ‘If the money lost on the bookies’ machines was spent elsewhere, it would create more jobs and generate more tax revenue,’ he said.
‘Not only do these machines have a parasitic effect on local economies, they’re also the crack cocaine of gambling.
‘If we had a gambling product classification, similar to that of drugs, FOBTs would be class A. The only effective modification that will reduce harm associated with FOBTs and curtail problem gambling is cutting the maximum stake to £2 a spin, which would eliminate the addictive roulette content.’
The letter is signed by the bosses of William Hill, Betfred, JenningsBet, Scotbet, GVC – owners of Ladbrokes and Coral – and the Association of British Bookmakers.
It is a response to the Daily Mail’s report last week that ministers were set on cutting stakes to £2, after Chancellor Philip Hammond agreed to tough action.
The Treasury was concerned cutting the stake would hit tax revenues.
The letter says: ‘ For the avoidance of doubt, we believe that a £2 stake is a disproportionate response and will be catastrophic for retail betting in the UK with widespread consequences for people’s livelihoods and the wider economy. We urge you not to sacrifice betting shops.’
Church groups, town halls and MPs from across the spectrum have warned of the damaging social consequences of FOBT gambling on some of the poorest communities.
A decision on the results of the Government’s gambling review is expected in weeks.
AFTER already branding the Tories as cruel, corrupt and institutionally racist, it was only a matter of time before Jeremy Corbyn went on to accuse them of murder.
He did it yesterday in a newspaper article, risibly headlined: ‘We can stop killer Tories’. Citing figures showing a 12 per cent spike in UK deaths in the first seven weeks of 2018, he said NHS cuts had ‘ almost certainly’ been lethally responsible.
Of course there is no evidence for this link. The increase came during a particularly cold spell and could have been fuelled by flu or other viruses. Or it could simply be a statistical blip.
Whatever is to blame, it certainly isn’t NHS cuts. Because for all Labour’s bluster, there haven’t been any.
Not only have health budgets increased every year since the 2008 crash, they have also been boosted by billions in additional funds. Strangely, Mr Corbyn failed to mention this in his mendacious rant. IN a flagrant attempt at scaremongering, big gambling firms say the Government crackdown on fixed odds betting terminals will force betting shops to close and cost thousands of jobs. Did they ever consider how many jobs have been lost by those who become hopelessly addicted to these ‘crack cocaine’ machines – and how many families have been irreparably broken?