Government must review gaming machines stakes and prizes

Earlier this week Carolyn Harris MP and I met with the acting minister responsible for regulation of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, David Evennett. We made the case for the government to undertake its review of gaming machine stakes and prizes as a matter of urgency, and to implement a reduction in maximum FOBT stakes from £100 to £2. Such stakes are utterly inappropriate for largely unspervised environments like bookies and belong in much more regulated environments such as casinos.

Carolyn is the chair of the new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on FOBTs (and I’m her deupty). The group has launched an inquiry into the effects of FOBT gambling – more details here:http://www.fobt-appg.com/latest-news