Britons lose £12 billion per year gambling

According to the UK Gambling Commission, Britons lost about £12.6 billion (US$ 16.75 billion) in the 12 months to September 2015.

UK.- According to the UK Gambling Commission, Britons lost about £12.6 billion (US$ 16.75 billion) gambling in the 12 months to September 2015, an increase of almost 12 percent on the previous year.

The amount is almost £500 (US$664.5) for every household in the land and the equivalent to about seven weeks’ worth of job-seekers’ allowance.

The fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) seems the ones to blame for the increase of losses across the UK. FOBTs enable punters to risk as much as £100 (US$132.9) per spin every 20 seconds. This turbo-charged electronic roulette was released as a result of the Gambling Act of 2005.

These machines generate considerable extra revenues from taxation on greatly increased betting. Last year alone, FOBTs raised £425 million (US$564.82 million) for the Treasury.