Bookmakers: We need £100 stakes or shops will close
BRITAIN’S bookmakers are making a last-ditch plea to the Government this weekend to prevent a crackdown on high-stakes betting machines, warning that tighter rules could force hundreds of betting shops to close.
Gambling pressure groups, local councils and rival gaming operators have called for a cut in the stakes and prizes on controversial fixedodds betting terminals (FOBTs).
Punters can currently bet up to £100 a spin on the machines.
The Government consultation on stakes and prizes closes later today and will consider rule changes on all betting machines, from seaside ‘grabber crane’ games to pub fruit machines and casino games that can offer a £20,000 jackpot on a £5 spin.
While bookies are seeking just to maintain the high stakes on FOBTs, the rest of the industry is calling for higher stakes and prizes on other machines.
Bacta, the amusement arcade trade body, is asking for the value of prizes on crane games to be raised to £75, for a new category machine to be introduced to allow bets of £10 on longer play games and for machines to be allowed to take contactless payments. The British Beer and Pub Association is calling for an increase in fruit machine jackpots from £100 to £150 to help struggling pubs. However, the review will focus particularly on FOBTs, first seen in the UK in 1999. Gamblers now spend £1.7 billion every year on these machines and critics says they encourage problems. The bulk of submissions are expected to demand that the maximum stake on the machines, dubbed the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’, is slashed to £10 or even £2 a spin.
Newham Council in East London, which has six betting shops for every square mile, said: ‘The drastic increase in the number of betting outlets correlates to increasingly high rates of crime and anti-social behaviour.’
A William Hill spokesman said: ‘Our submission will clearly demonstrate our commitment to responsible gambling and that betting shops are among the safest of all gambling environments.
‘We do not believe there should be any change to stakes and prizes because this will not do anything towards meeting the Government’s desire to protect the vulnerable in society.’
Insiders warn that if the stake is cut to £30 or less, hundreds of betting shops will be forced to close.
The Association of British Bookmakers said: ‘The stakes and prizes on betting shop machines have not changed for more than 12 years, which is effectively a 30 per cent real terms cut.’