MP says UKGC didn’t want £2 maximum stake on FOBTs

The chairman of a parliamentary group said that the commission preferred a £30 limit instead.

UK.- Philip Davies, chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on Betting and Gaming, said that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) didn’t want a £2 limit on the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and that it preferred to lower the current £100 limit to £30.

The MP told BBC Radio Live that the commission that regulates gambling in the territory didn’t believe that cutting the maximum stake from £100 to £2 was justified and that a £30 limit would be enough to prevent the problems that anti-gambling groups claimed that the machines have on people. The cut in the maximum stake will not take effect until October 2019, and it is estimated that it will result in a billionaire windfall for bookmakers.

“The focus of our advice was on protecting consumers and how best to address the risk of harm, as set out in our licensing objectives,” said a UKGC spokesperson, as BBC reported. “We recommended that a stake limit for FOBT non-slot games should be set at or below £30 if it is to have a significant effect on the potential for players to lose large amounts of money in a short space of time. The advice was based on the best available evidence and is focussed on reducing the risk of harm to consumers.”

Last week, sports minister Tracey Couch resigned from the government after the delayed was announced. The former minister wanted the measure to be implemented in April 2019 and said that such measure would not cost thousands of jobs, which is the main concern from industry officials.