There has in intensive press speculation over the past week about the future of Britain’s 33,000 fixed odds betting terminals.
Representatives of the two main suppliers, Inspired Gaming and SG Gaming are due to hold talks with the government on Tuesday to put their case for unfair treatment of the machines.
They are scheduled to meet Helen Grant (pictured), minister for tourism, sport and equaities, to pitch for a relaxation of the hardening stance on FOBTs. They will point to the inequalities introduced by the increase in gaming duty to 25 per cent introduced in March, while the tax on bingo was reduced to 10 per cent.
Players, they will argue, can enjoy the same game on exactly the same machine with the same stakes in a bingo club which pays less tax than the machines located in bookmakers’ shops.
In other reports, however, a fresh crackdown on the machines is being promised, with a reinforcing of the voluntary code introduced by bookmakers which sees warnings flashed on-screen to players after specified lengths of play. With FOBTs offering an apparent 50 per cent of gross profits enjoyed by bookmakers, the outcome of the present debate is critical to companies like William Hill and Ladbrokes, as well as to the suppliers.
The press speculation suggests that prime minister David Cameron will this week announce fresh restrictions on the games, including a new range of regulatory and planning powers to reduce the spread of betting shops.
