Knowing the amount lost on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) in the Congleton constituency Fiona, as a Member of the FOBT All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in Parliament, is promoting the Group’s ‘Cut the Stake, Reduce FOBT Harm’ campaign.
FOBTs allow people to stake £100 every 20 seconds on electronic versions of casino games such as roulette, but in a low supervision high street bookie environment. Political concern and controversy has been growing about the highly addictive nature of the machines, with one campaign group even calling them the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling. This is an issue which Fiona has raised in Parliament before.
The cross party group of MPs and Peers, published its report in January 2017, assessing the impact of FOBTs, and called for a substantial reduction in the maximum stake playable, stating that there was a strong case for this to be no more than £2.
The campaign has secured the widespread support with the General Synod of the Church of England, 93 local authorities, the Royal Society for Public Health and politicians from all parties supporting the campaign.
Speaking of her support to the campaign for a stake reduction, Fiona said:
“The case for action on FOBTs is clear and I urge the Government to act now and cut the stake. There is no excuse for the continued misery these machines are causing. The problems associated with them are obvious, and it is really not acceptable to be able to walk in off the street and stake such a high amount with no checks or safeguards in place whatsoever.
“I am extremely concerned to hear that £1,781,199 was lost to FOBTs in the Congleton constituency alone over 2015/16. We cannot go on with this situation. I urge the Government to bring forward their proposals, and to cut the stake on FOBTs to £2 without further delay.
The Government is currently considering responses from the Call for Evidence into Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility launched in October 2016. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is expected to publish the next stage of the Review, with its proposals, in October 2017.
Fiona also signed the Early Day Motion 174 titled “FIXED ODD BETTING TERMINALS”. The motion said:
“That this House welcomes the re-establishment of the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals All-Party Parliamentary Group; acknowledges that there has been widespread proliferation in the number of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) since the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005; notes that more can and should be done by all stakeholders to prevent the harm caused by such machines; further notes that a record of £1.82 billion was lost by players on FOBTs in 2016; and calls on the Government to publish the Review of stakes and prizes as a matter of urgency and to commit to reducing the stakes on FOBTs substantially.”