On Tuesday 16th January the Fixed Odds Betting Terminal APPG held a drop in session with MPs, Peers and organisations supportive of the campaign for a maximum £2 stake on B2 FOBT machines.

Along with other senior figures and organisations, members of the APPG have written to the Prime Minister urging her to take action on FOBTs

The full letter is available here

Please click here to download a copy of the minutes from the FOBT APPG meeting on the 10th January 2018.

If you have any questions or require any further information, please contact the Group Secretariat.

In response to stories in the media that the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) is set to be cut to £2, Carolyn Harris MP has commented:

“I very much welcome reports in the press today that the Government looks set to finally see sense and reduce the stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to £2.

This is something that I have personally championed, along with others in Parliament, for over two and a half years.

The Government has for far too long ignored the many harms being caused by these machines.

A reduction in the stake to £2 would not just be a victory for common sense. It would be a victory for the thousands of people whose lives are blighted daily by these toxic machines.

With over 25 of my colleagues in Parliament, faith groups, local government and community groups, I have written to the Prime Minister demanding action. We say that the Government must not waver in helping the vulnerable. It must not row back on its commitment to take action on FOBTs. It must not bend to the power of the bookmaker lobby. The health and wellbeing of our country is at issue. The Government must reduce the stake on FOBTs to £2 and do so immediately.”

Notes to Editors

1. Carolyn Harris MP is the Member of Parliament for Swansea East. She is the Chair of the All Party Group on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, a Group she founded in 2016.
2. The FOBT APPG has undertaken two inquiries into FOBTs and written to the Prime Minster imploring her to act on these machines.
3. For further inquiries please contact the secretariat of the Group Katherine.Morgan@interelgroup.com 07973 884797

Please click here to download a copy of the minutes from the FOBT APPG meeting on the 13th December 2017.

If you have any questions or require any further information, please contact the Group Secretariat.

“I welcome the Centre for Economics and Business Research’s (Cebr) thorough, timely and important research into Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which sets out a clear rationale for reducing the stake on to £2.

I am concerned about the impact these harmful machines are having on people’s lives and this report shows the financial benefits to the whole of society from reducing the stake. In particular, it sets out that the benefits of stake reduction will be felt most by those lower down the income scale.

The report also shows that if the stake is reduced to £2 there will be significant reductions in problem gambling which is costing the government £210m annually and stake reduction will deliver an overall net benefit to the economy.

The research indicates that the government has also significantly over estimated the potential losses to bookmakers if stakes are reduced. These could be up to 47% lower.

The Government must act now take decisive action to deal with FOBTs and reduce the stake to £2.”

Carolyn Harris MP

Chair – Fixed Odds Betting Terminals APPG

The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board has responded to a letter sent by FOBT APPG Chair Carolyn Harris MP regarding the organisation’s advice on the precautionary principle and the impact of FOBT machines, given to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of its consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures.

In response the RGSB has also provided their analysis of the impact of gaming stakes on problem gambling levels.

The RGSB’s letter is available here.

The RGSB’s stake analysis is available here.