Bonanza for the bookies
Fury as gambling chiefs back £30 fixed odds limit
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.