Campaign over 'crack cocaine' of gambling

Jim McMahon MP

OLDHAM MP Jim McMahon is continuing to back a campaign for action on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), with figures showing nearly £3m was lost to those machines in his constituency alone.

The Chronicle reported in February this year how MPs were calling for stakes at FOBTs to be lowered to as little as £2, after a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group showed over £5million is lost in Oldham overall to the machines.

FOBTs allow punters to stake £100 every 20 seconds on electronic versions of casino games. 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.

The cross party group of MPs and peers published a report in January, 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.

They have called for strong action to be taken, with concerns being raised about the negative effects that FOBTs have in betting shops, not just on vulnerable individuals who are drawn into using them on a regular basis, but on their families and the wider community.

According to 'Stop the FOBTs' - a campaign for fairer gambling - there are 38 betting shops in Oldham. In a single year, over £22 million is gambled on FOBTs, with customers losing £5,640,277 in Oldham.

The Government is currently considering responses from the call for evidence into gaming machines and social responsibility launched in October 2016.