In a surprise announcement this week as part of their newly published formal advice to support the Government with its review of gaming machines & social responsibility measures, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has recommended that while stakes for slot-based fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) should be reduced to the lowest possible stake of £2, the stakes for non-slots based FOBTs should be reduced to £30 or below “if it is to have a significant effect on the potential for players to lose large amounts of money in a short space of time”.
The Commission made several other recommendations, including making it mandatory to track play across machine categories B1, B2 and B3. FOBTs are classed as B2 in the UK. They also recommend that similar protections, such as player limits, should be extended to the B1 and B3 category machines, which include machines which already carry maximum stakes of £5 and £2 respectively. They further suggest that other forms of limit-setting should be explored, such as a limit on play times or establishing total session wagering limits. These recommendations were laid out in a letter sent to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Department currently concluding the government review into FOBTs.
The CEO of the UKGC, Neil McArthur, also issued a public statement on the recommendations: “We’ve put consumers at the heart of our advice – advice which is based on the best available evidence and is focussed on reducing the risk of gambling-related harm… In our judgement, a stake cut for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals alone doesn’t go far enough to protect vulnerable people. That is why we have recommended a stake cut plus a comprehensive package of other measures to protect consumers… We have proposed actions that will tackle both the risk of harm and provide solutions that are sustainable in the longer term.”
In the extended 97-page formal advice, the UKGC notes that, although the non-slots FOBTs include roulette, which is “by far the most popular game on B2 machines,” the data on consumer losses indicates that the greatest losses are nonetheless incurred via slot machine FOBTs. “This represents the particular risks associated with slots, which offer a lower return than non-slots games and less opportunity for players to manage their own risks through the way they play.”.
This advice comes as a surprise to many, and the media is of course slapping the phrase “recommends £30 limit” on headlines when they in fact recommend “£30 or below”. Still, it is advice the industry did not expect, and will likely be taken seriously by the government. On balance, it does seem measured.
