{"id":45980,"date":"2017-02-28T18:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T02:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=45980"},"modified":"2017-02-28T15:33:53","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T23:33:53","slug":"fobt-stakes-reduction-would-lead-to-20000-job-losses-says-uk-betting-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fobt-stakes-reduction-would-lead-to-20000-job-losses-says-uk-betting-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"FOBT Stakes Reduction Would Lead to 20,000 Job Losses, Says UK Betting Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

A proposal by the UK government to reduce the stakes of fixed-odds betting terminals<\/a> (FOBTs) would cause 20,000 job losses and threaten half of the nation\u2019s bookmaking shops with closure, according to new betting industry research seen by The Times.<\/p>\n

\"Carolyn
Carolyn Harris MP this week questioned why the betting industry has not published the full KPMG report on\u00a0FOBTs. Unless it shares the research in full, MPs will not consider it, she said. (Image: BBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It would also have an adverse effect on the racing industry, which would lose \u00a3100 million ($123 million) a year in media rights and racing levy contributions, says the report by KPMG.<\/p>\n

The government would lose \u00a31 billion ($1.2 billion), and meanwhile the bookmaking industry would be \u201cdevastated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regulatory Review<\/b><\/h2>\n

The government has entered into a wide-ranging regulatory review<\/a> of the betting industry. In December, an all-party parliamentary group, formed to advise the government review, recommended slashing the maximum stakes of the controversial FOBT machines from \u00a3100 ($123) per spin (every 20 seconds) to just \u00a32 ($2.46), igniting a furious spat between the betting industry and the government.<\/p>\n

The industry operates some 4,809 terminals in shops across the country, which have become its greatest single source of revenue, accounting for some 50 percent of overall land-based profits.<\/p>\n

But critics believe that the high stakes available have a negative social impact on local communities. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Won\u2019t Bookies Publish?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The spat deepened this week when MPs questioned why the industry has failed to publish the KPMG report in full. Do they have something to hide?<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf the bookies want MPs, who will be making decisions on\u00a0FOBTs,\u00a0to consider the research the betting industry has funded, I recommend that they share it with us,” Carolyn Harris MP, who led the all-party group, told The Telegraph newspaper.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cFOBTs are causing extremely high levels of gambling harm in communities across the country,\u201d she added. \u201cThe Government should respond to the widespread campaign for a substantial stake reduction backed by hundreds of MPs, local authorities and now the Church of England Synod, by taking definitive action in the forthcoming Review of Stakes and Prizes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alternative Economic Theory<\/b><\/h2>\n

Harris cited publicly available research from Landman Economics which suggests the gambling industry\u2019s estimation of job losses does not take account of \u201cthe overall impact of a shift in consumer spending towards FOBTs and away from other goods and services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landman believes that the shift in consumer expenditure from other goods and services to FOBTs tends to siphon resources out of local economies, destroying more jobs than are created.<\/p>\n

This means that because \u201c\u00a31 of expenditure on FOBTs supports fewer jobs than the \u2018average\u2019 \u00a31 of consumer expenditure, an increase in spending on FOBTs will reduce overall employment and economic activity,\u201d said Landman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A proposal by the UK government to reduce the stakes of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) would cause 20,000 job losses and threaten half of the nation\u2019s bookmaking shops with closure, according to new betting industry research seen by The Times. It would also have an adverse effect on the racing industry, which would lose \u00a3100 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":45981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFOBT Stakes Reduction Would Lead to 20,000 Job Losses, Says UK Betting Industry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UK bookmaking industry cites KPMG\u2019s new research on fixed-odds betting terminals but appears unwilling to publish the full report. 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