UK government criticised over FOBTs delay

An opposition party accused the government of being weak after delaying the FOBTs resolution to 2020.

UK.- The Labour Party of the UK has accused the government of being “fundamentally weak” after ministers allegedly succumbed to bookmakers’ pressure and agreed to delay the slash of maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) until 2020.

Under the terms of the deal with the Treasury, the maximum stake on the machines will be reduced from £100 to £2, but not before 2020. Gamblers are expected to lose £4 billion in the two year period, based on the average £1.8 billion a year in revenues taken by the FOBTs machines.

Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said: “Capitulating to a two-year delay is a pathetic move from a fundamentally weak government. Those who praised the government when the announcement was made will feel badly let down. They are already rolling back on their promises and allowing these machines to ruin more lives.”

Moreover,  a government spokesperson said that they are changing the rules so they balance the needs of vulnerable people, those who gamble responsibly and people who work in the sector. “But we must get this right, and are engaging with the industry to ensure it has sufficient time to implement these technological changes,” they said.

A spokesperson for anti-FOBT campaign group Fairer Gambling said: “Unbelievably, Treasury thinks it takes two years for the bookmakers to run a software update on their server-based FOBTs to remove games they should never have been allowed in the first place.

“Somehow Treasury has given the bookies a longer transition period than it’ll take the government to negotiate Brexit. The delay will mean hundreds of thousands more people experiencing harm before the gambling addiction gateway of high-speed, high-stakes roulette is removed.”