An all-party Parliamentary Group was request to submit a report on FOBTs (Fixed-odds betting terminals), as this topic was one of the most hotly debated issues after the UK Gambling Commission indicated that it considers applying stricter regulation on this popular form of gaming.
The Group came up with a report which contains several recommendations, one of which is a decrease of the maximum allowed wager on FOBT from £100 to £2. It has been suggested that the MPs might have been influence by the negative press coverage. On many occasions, FOBTs have been called dangerous and some have claimed that they cause a lot of damage to communities as they encourage people, often poor and unemployed it has been claimed, to wager more and more.
British sports betting and casino operators are not happy with the reported. Previously, their association refused to participate in the discussion, claiming that the all-party Group is biased.
The group was led by Carolyn Harris, Labour MP for Swansea East. In addition to decrease of the maximum stake, the Group also proposes stricter regulations regarding the number of terminals that should be allowed per location. Moreover, the Group also reckons that the machines should be spinning more slowly, which in turn would limit the number of wagers per minute.
The Group came up with its suggestions, despite the fact that a recent study showed that decreasing the wagering limits isn’t a solution for problem gambling. UK operators suspect that the Group represents only a small number of politicians who are strongly against betting and gaming. The Association went even further, suggesting that the all-party Group itself should be investigated.