Outlaw right for machine gambling in betting shops

Publication date: Monday 6 February 2012

The Government should remove the automatic right of betting shop owners to install up to four Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) in each shop, says Haringey Council in a letter to Jeremy Hunt MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.

This follows the council presenting evidence to the Select Committee Inquiry into Gambling, asking for betting shops to be subject to specific planning regulations due to the detrimental effect that clusters can have on high streets.

Cllr Nilgun Canver, Cabinet Member for the Environment, says:

FOBTs provide a very different form of gambling experience to that associated with sporting events. They are designed to be addictive and they generate a disproportionate percentage of the profit for average high street betting offices.

They are also particularly susceptible to criminal damage in part because they also can result in very large accumulative losses for the player. The player is encouraged to gamble for longer in the hope of chasing their losses.

The council is asking government to look at making it a statutory requirement for operators to apply for licences for FOBTs and for councils to be able to limit or refuse to allow FOBTs where there is a record of relevant crime or disorder linked to premises.

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