Gambler who lost £250k on terminals backs betting machines stake-curb
Aman who lost £250,000 in two years on fixed-odds betting terminals following the devastating death of his daughter has backed the move to reduce the stake to £2.
Terry White, who revealed the machines were as addictive as “crack cocaine” and left him like a “zombie”, said he hoped the changes would quickly come into effect to save others from suffering the massive losses he had. New government rules mean people will only be able to punt £2 as the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in the future.
Former betting shop manager and ex-professional gambler Mr White, 54, of Barry, still owes £100,000 to different parties after gambling £41,000 away in the space of a day.
Mr White said: “These machines seem quite innocent, but after I lost my daughter in October 2015 I started to play the machines to forget about my grief.
“I still owe £100,000 to various parties.
“My daughter was 24 at the time and I had done well enough to have a house and £100,000 in the bank – my life has not been the same since that phone call.
“One day I lost £41,000 in Ladbrokes in Cardiff.” Mr White said the decision to curb the amount of cash staked was a good thing, and added: “It will make a huge difference.
“I do not believe there will be all these job losses if they bring it down to £2.
“Within the betting industry there needs to be massive reform. “People can lose their lives. “It’s like being in a zombie-like state – there could be a fire but my focus would be on the ball spinning around.” He added: “I would buy a shirt in Primark and it would get flagged up, but I could spend £40,000 in a day and it wouldn’t.”
Mr White, who is working with Citizens Advice in a bid to help others, said he was punting thousands of pounds when the highest prize he could win in a spin was just £500, compared to the machines in Las Vegas where you can gamble a dollar and a $5 million jackpot was up for grabs.
“I want to stop people from racking up debts,” he said.
“It will take 50 times as long for me to rack up those debts with the new regulation, but it could take 18 months to come in. “We have fought a strong campaign.”
Carolyn Harris, MP for Swansea East, who has fought for the change in the law to reduce the amount gambled on fixed-odds betting terminals to just £2, said: “I am delighted with today’s announcement that the stake on fixed-odds betting terminals will be reduced to £2.
“This is something I, and others, have long campaigned for. FOBTs have caused so much social harm and huge losses for those who can least afford it.
“Last year there were more than 230,000 individual sessions in which a user lost more than £1,000.
“These machines have increased the risk of problem gambling, which carries a huge social and economic cost.
“This was morally the right decision to make and it is victory for all those people whose lives have for far too long been blighted by these toxic machines.”
People were able to bet up to £100 every 20 seconds on electronic casino games such as roulette.
Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said reducing the stake to £2 “will reduce harm for the most vulnerable”.
But bookmakers have warned the knock-on effect of the government’s decision was that thousands of outlets could be faced with closure.
William Hill, which generates just over half its retail revenues from FOBTs, described the government’s decision as “unprecedented” and warned that 900 of its shops could become loss-making, potentially leading to job losses.
It warned its full-year operating profit could fall by between £70m and £100m.
Meanwhile, GVC Holdings, the owner of Ladbrokes, warned its profits would be slashed by around £160 million in the first full year that the £2 limit is in force.
Ms Crouch said: “We recognise the potential impact of this change for betting shops which depend on (FOBT) revenues, but also that this is an industry that is innovative and able to adapt to changes.”
FOBTs campaigner and Clwyd West AM Darren Millar – who holds an annual conference on problem gambling in Cardiff – described the decision as “excellent news” and comes after intensive campaigning by AMs and MPs.
Mr Millar has also called on the Welsh Labour Government to take radical action in educating people in Wales about the “dangers of gambling”.
He said: “This is excellent news and a welcome decision from the UK Conservative government.
“Fixed-odds betting terminals are a public health menace which ruin people’s lives.
“Excessive gambling is trapping people into an addictive cycle and people can end up losing their homes, relationships, and their place and purpose in society.
“This radical action will now help to address the serious harm they cause.”
He added: “We now need radical action from the Welsh Government to step up education about the dangers of gambling and to address flaws in the planning system which result in communities being besieged by multiple betting shops in our town centres.”
Fixed odds betting terminals are a public health menace which ruin people’s lives
CLWYD WEST AM DARREN MILLAR
THE UK Government has bowed to reason and relented to pressure and will cut the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to £2.
Too many families have suffered as a result of rules which allowed people to bet up to £100 every 20 seconds. There are horror stories in communities across Wales of ruin and distress.
Many people deserve credit for their part in the fight to change the law but a pair of MPs formed a particularly (if unlikely) dynamic duo.
Carolyn Harris, the Labour MP for Swansea East, and former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith fought with intelligence, gusto and purpose to try to halt the damage caused by these genuinely perfidious “terminals”.
Their story is encouraging at a time when politics can seem riven with toxic tribalism and dominated by issues far removed from the immediate realities of hurting families. It is welcome proof that people from different political traditions can and do share a commitment to the common good.
They may have very different ideas about the best way to build a thriving society but they can recognise a social disaster when they see it – and can appreciate the skills that people from different parties bring to an effective campaign.
Mr Duncan Smith spoke of the sheer joy with which Ms Harris battled for reform and applauded her ability to build alliances. She valued his ability to lobby people at the very top of government.
The former dinner lady and the ex-military officer were a formidable pair and together they helped put momentum behind the argument for change.
Politics is not for the faint-hearted, and many people who win election will worry not so much about the jousting in the Commons or the Assembly but the vicious personal attacks they can expect on social media.
But one of the best aspects of our democracy is that most people sent to our legislatures have values that will resonate with anyone of goodwill. This is by no means the case in all societies but in Wales and the UK there is epic scope for putting aside partisanship and working for justice, progress and opportunity.
Collaboration between parties makes it less likely campaigns will be hobbled by interest groups, donors and dogma.
If a Tory eurosceptic and the Welsh Labour deputy leader can help end the age of £100 stakes there is so much that their counterparts in all parties can achieve.