Daily Mirror

Bonanza for the bookies

Fury as gambling chiefs back £30 fixed odds limit

- BY GRAHAM HISCOTT Head of Business graham.hiscott@mirror.co.uk

THE gambling watchdog was blasted yesterday after rejecting calls for a £2 stake cap on fixed odds betting terminals.

The machines have been dubbed the “crack cocaine of gambling” because they currently allow wagers of £100 every 20 seconds.

The Government launched a consultati­on last November on lowering the maximum stake to between £2 and £50.

But the Gambling Commission was accused of “caving in” to pressure from bookies after recommendi­ng a £30 per stake limit for roulette and other casino-style machines. The £2 limit should only apply to traditiona­l fruit slot machines, it said.

Shares in bookies Ladbrokes Coral, William Hill and GVC rose on the back of the news. Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: “This is a very disappoint­ing report from the Gambling Commission, who appear to have caved in to industry pressure.”

Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur denied this, saying: “Protecting consumers and tackling the risk of gamblingre­lated harm is always at the heart of our work.” He said the £30 figure was a maximum and he would back moves to set it below that.

Bookies say thousands of bettting shop jobs could be lost with a £2 cap. The machines generate nearly £500million tax revenue a year for the government.

 ??  ?? ADDICTIVE Controvers­ial terminals
ADDICTIVE Controvers­ial terminals

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