How IDS has led the way

FORMER Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has led the campaign against fixed-odds terminals. His Centre for Social Justice thinktank published research on how the machines affect society and concluded that cutting the maximum stake from £100 to £2 was vital to protect the public.

The report revealed a worrying rise in problem gambling. It said Government rules had ‘missed the mark’ with a quarter of calls to gambling helplines linked to FOBTs. The number of machines is at an all-time high of 34,809, with £1.7billion gambled away on them every year.