April 2019
Success with Our Campaign:
A longstanding campaign of mine has been to reduce the maximum stakes possible on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals down to £2 and thus radically decreasing the impact and harm of these machines.
The campaign was successful and legislation came into action in April, 2019, to fully implement the reduced stakes.
Fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) are electronic machines, sited in betting shops, which contain a variety of games, including roulette. Each machine accepts bets for amounts up to a pre-set maximum and pays out according to fixed odds on the simulated outcomes of games.
FOBTs are the crack cocaine of the gambling world. They have been shown to be highly addictive and were pivotal in problematic and harmful gambling across the country. The £100 stake meant that it was possible to lose large amounts of money on FOBTs and entire lives were being ruined by addictions to these machines.
Everyone agrees that it was sensible to bring the stake down on fixed odds betting terminals from £100 every twenty seconds to £2. If that means that bookmakers like William Hill stop ripping off the vulnerable individuals who have become addicted to such terrible machines, then the sooner the better and it should have happened years ago.
I am proud to have been a supporter of the campaign to cut the stake from £100 to £2, and will continue to make the case for fairer and more considerate legislation.
Let us now hear about what will now be done to create roles and jobs doing things that are worthwhile, fun and not addictive.
