Bacta continues to push UKGC to reconsider its FOBTs stance

Trade association for the UK’s amusement and gaming machine industry, Bacta, has urged the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to review its stance on the maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

The UKGC released a report last month in which it detailed its support for the government’s proposal to cut the maximum stake on slot games to £2 and non-slot games to £30. Bacta believes that only setting all stakes at £2 would address the problems around high-loss sessions on FOBTs.

“Its model projects that industry losses from a £2 stake could be up to 47 per cent lower than suggested by the Government’s initial impact assessment, with a £335 million reduction in annual Gross Gambling Yield to high street betting shops, against the Government’s estimate of £639 million,” said the report from Bacta.

Based on the Gambling Commission’s session loss data for 2015/6, Bacta found that when average stakes were below £30, there were still 136,561 sessions in which a consumer lost over £500, which means that over 17 per cent of all high-loss sessions (>£500) were with average stakes at or below £30. “Only with a stake at or below £2 are these high-loss sessions effectively eliminated, with just 14 instances where the stake average was between 51p and £2,” said Bacta.

John White, CEO of Bacta, commented: “We were deeply concerned by the Gambling Commission’s advice that a stake level of up to £30 should be considered on FOBTs excluding slots. This analysis reinforces those worries, demonstrating the clear link between high-loss sessions on FOBTs and stake levels of between £5 and £30.”

“It could not be clearer that only a £2 stake maximum can help protect vulnerable people from major losses on these machines, which are the source of so much needless and avoidable harm. A £2 stake is the only safe and sensible option to limit the damage caused by FOBTs, and we urge Government to acknowledge this and act.”