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Ministers delay action on gambling machines 17/07/2013
Randeep Ramesh
Government waiting for research on whether terminals are addictive, but campaigners say there is plenty of evidence

The government is backing off from tighter regulations on high-speed, high-stakes gambling machines despite international moves to ban the terminals, campaigners have said .

This week the Irish government moved to outlaw fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) because of the "level of concern felt by the government at the very harmful effects of [them]" but in the UK ministers say they will not act for at least another year until research into whether the machines are addictive is completed. The research is being carried out by the Responsible Gaming Trust, a charity partly funded by the gambling industry.

A paper on limiting the amount wagered on the machines was expected to be published on Thursday but will now be released later this summer.

Campaigners say there is plenty of evidence already in the public domain making the case for tighter regulation, and the refusal to act is comparable to government backtracking on minimum alcohol pricing and cigarette plain packaging.

With punters conceivably able to bet £100 every 20 seconds on casino games, FOBTs have been dubbed the crack cocaine of gambling.

In 2007 the British Gambling Prevalence Survey said "gambling via virtual gaming machines (eg roulette) .... was the only gambling type that remained significantly and positively associated with problem gambling".

Norway imposed restrictions on betting machines in 2007, allowing them only in a strictly controlled state-licensed scheme and imposing a mandatory limit on the amount players could gamble, mandatory breaks in play and lower bets.

However, there has been staunch resistance from an industry which has profited from the machines. In 2011 Ladbrokes said the amount staked on the machines exceeded £10bn that year.

As a first step there have been calls for Maria Miller, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, to reduce the maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2.

Derek Webb, who founded the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said: "As the UK government dithers, the Irish government has acted decisively. By refusing to reduce the stake on FOBTs, the government is failing to protect young and vulnerable people, contrary to the licensing objective of the 2005 Gambling Act.

"Instead of adhering to a precautionary principle, the government is going to wait for bookmaker-funded research, which will take at least another year and is not guaranteed to tell us anything we do not already know about FOBTs. Every day that Maria Miller decides not to act, more and more people will be harmed as result."

A DCMS spokesperson said: "We are aware of the concerns that have been raised about fixed-odds betting terminals, however there is a need for proper research on this issue.

"We are currently reviewing the responses following our call for evidence relating to these machines and links to problem gambling. Once we have examined the available evidence we will consider what further action, if any, is necessary.

"In addition, the Responsible Gambling Trust have already announced the largest programme of academic research into gaming machines ever undertaken in Britain, which should provide a much better understanding of problem gambling behaviour."

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