Parliament has voted in favour of the government stakes and prizes proposals, despite opposition from the Labour Party.
The changes outlined in the triennial review will raise the jackpot for Category C machines from £70 to £100 but do not include any amendments to the stakes and prizes for fixed odds betting terminals.
The latter have attracted much criticism due to the fact that these machines, found in licensed betting offices, enable a stake of £100. There have been calls to reduce the stake to £2, but the government’s proposals were passed by a margin of 322 votes to 231.
Labour MP Tom Watson, who has been pushing for FOBT stakes to be changed, described the vote as a “missed opportunity.”
Perhaps the biggest disappointment to anti-FOBT campaigners, however, was that many of the Liberal Democrat MPs that have voiced their support for the cause voted to pass the measures in their current form.
"Part of the approval conditions of FOBTs was that the Minister had the power to reduce the maximum stake from £100 down £2 and this simply hasn’t been addressed," said Derek Webb, founder of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling. “There are mixed messages coming through from MPs from all parties and this vote goes to show that the government is not taking the evidence of damage caused by FOBTs seriously and have missed an opportunity to take action.”
