Out-Law News 1 min. read

Fixed odds stake cap should be lower, says GB gambling regulator


The Gambling Commission has called for a cap on stakes for fixed odds betting machines (FOBTs) in order to protect vulnerable consumers from incurring significant losses.

In advice published (97 page / 1.39MB PDF) to support the UK government's review of gaming machines and social responsibility, the regulator said the maximum stake for slot machines should be £2 and the maximum stake for non-slot machines, such as roulette, should be £30. Currently the maximum stake for B2, or fixed odds machines, is £100.

The Commission said a cut in the maximum stake alone would “not go far enough to address the risk of harm fully”. It suggested introducing a wider package of measures to help limit the financial harm from betting machines.

Gambling expert Christopher Rees-Gay of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said the gambling industry has warned that the recommendations could have a negative impact on its business.

“The Commission’s stance will not be warmly received by those operators which have large betting shop estates and that rely heavily on FOBTs,” Rees-Gay said. “If the government adopts this drastic reduction in stake level to £2 and if the industry is correct it could lead to the closure of betting shops, loss of jobs and loss of tax revenues.

“The Commission is an advisor to the government on gambling matters, so the government could justify the change to the £2 stake limit if it wanted to, based on the GC advice” Rees-Gay said.

Other recommendations in the advice document include making tracked play mandatory across the three main types of betting machines. The commission said this would give consumers access to information enabling them to make informed choices about whether to continue to play, would give operators no excuse if they failed to identify players starting to show signs of 'problematic gambling', and would give the government and commission a clearer picture of whether the industry was meeting its social responsibility obligations.

The advice also suggested preventing B2 machines from allowing gamblers to play different categories of games in a single session.

The advice follows the publication of a new strategy by the Gambling Commission last year, which identified protecting the interests of consumers and preventing harm to consumers and the public as two of five "strategic priorities".

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