{"id":59691,"date":"2017-09-28T16:00:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T23:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=59691"},"modified":"2017-09-28T17:37:44","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T00:37:44","slug":"paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddy Power Betfair Accused of Backstabbing Betting Industry Over FOBTs"},"content":{"rendered":"

PaddyPower Betfair<\/a> has broken ranks with the UK betting industry and the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), of which it is member, by declaring its support of the slashing the stakes of fixed-odds betting terminals.<\/p>\n

\"PaddyPower
PaddyPower Betfair supremo Breon Corcoran says that FOBTs undermine the role of the gambling sector as a \u201cprovider of entertainment, employment, and tax revenue.\u201d But his company may have the most to gain from a tightening of regulations. (Image: Eric Luke\/Irish Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a letter from PaddyPower Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran to Tracey Crouch, the Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, seen by the Financial Times this week, Corcoran urges that maximum stakes should be reduced from \u00a3100 ($134) to \u201c\u00a310 or lower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crouch\u2019s department has been charged with conducting a review into the controversial machines, the results of which are expected to be published next month. Anti-gambling campaigners want stakes to be reduced to as little as \u00a32 ($2.60), but the betting industry, and its representative body, the ABB, has warned that any reduction will result in the closure of betting shops and thousands job losses.<\/p>\n

Machines are \u201cToxic\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But in his letter Corcoran said the issue had become so \u201ctoxic\u201d that only a \u201csubstantial reduction\u201d would be sufficient to address \u201csocietal concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Whilst we are not aware of any evidence which links stake size to problem gambling, we are acutely aware of the increasing reputational damage to the gambling industry that has followed the lack of progress in this area,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

“We believe this undermines the role of the sector as a provider of entertainment, employment, and tax revenue, in addition to being a much-needed supporter of sports such as horseracing.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Corcoran said his company was confident it could run its retail business successfully under such circumstances, and suggested that \u201cother well-run operators should be able to do the same.”<\/p>\n

Commercial Move?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But other operators claim this is a cynical, self-serving move. Greg Knight, managing director of independent bookmakers Jenningsbet, said it was no more than a “blatant commercial consideration” in an official statement.<\/p>\n

With far fewer betting shops in UK high streets<\/a> than its competitors, the company is less exposed to the fallout from a reduction in stakes.<\/p>\n

Recent analysis by Barclays suggests that slashing the stakes to \u00a32 would cost Ladbrokes Coral, with 3,660 betting shops, \u00a3449 million ($603 million) in revenues per year, and William Hill, with 2,375 shops, \u00a3284 million ($382 million).<\/p>\n

But Paddy Power, with somewhere between 300 and 400, would lose just \u00a355 million. Meanwhile, with a superior digital product, it would arguably have the most to gain from a migration of land-based customers online caused by the closure of local betting shops.<\/p>\n

“The Paddy Power Betfair position does not reflect the view of the majority of ABB members. Paddy Power Betfair comprise just four per cent of the UK retail estate,\u201d said the ABB in an official statement.<\/p>\n

“Independent analysis has suggested very significant shop closures and job losses if stakes are materially reduced and, as Paddy Power Betfair concede, this would do little to help problem gamblers.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PaddyPower Betfair has broken ranks with the UK betting industry and the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), of which it is member, by declaring its support of the slashing the stakes of fixed-odds betting terminals. In a letter from PaddyPower Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran to Tracey Crouch, the Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":59695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,19,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPaddy Power Betfair Accused of Backstabbing Betting Industry Over FOBTs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"PaddyPower CEO Brendan Corcoran breaks ranks with ABB by telling MP Tracey Crouch he supports a slash in the maximum stakes of fixed odds betting terminals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paddy Power Betfair Accused of Backstabbing Betting Industry Over FOBTs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PaddyPower CEO Brendan Corcoran breaks ranks with ABB by telling MP Tracey Crouch he supports a slash in the maximum stakes of fixed odds betting terminals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-28T23:00:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-29T00:37:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/\",\"name\":\"Paddy Power Betfair Accused of Backstabbing Betting Industry Over FOBTs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-28T23:00:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-29T00:37:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"PaddyPower CEO Brendan Corcoran breaks ranks with ABB by telling MP Tracey Crouch he supports a slash in the maximum stakes of fixed odds betting terminals.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-betfair-accused-of-backstabbing-betting-industry-over-fobts\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/image.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":540,\"caption\":\"PaddyPower Betfair supremo Brendan Corcoran says that FOBTs undermine the role of the gambling sector as a \u201cprovider of entertainment, employment, and tax revenue.\u201d But his company may have the most to gain from a tightening of regulations. 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