Radical new laws have been introduced into the UK by the government, with industry assistance, to help protect gamblers from over-exposing themselves to financial problems when playing fixed-odds betting terminals in bookmakers’ shops.
Source: Ladbrokes
Compulsory limits were announced on November 3 on the amount of time and money players can lose before they are forced to take a break. Players will have to make a choice over whether they set their own monetary or time limits. If they choose not to, they will be forced to break from playing for 30 minutes, or if their losses reach £250.
Bookmakers will introduce the changes before January 30. Players will have to take a 30-second break if they have reached the default time and money limit, before they can make another bet. The changes will be promoted throughout the industry by a national Responsible Gaming Week to be launched in the run-up to the January 30 deadline.
The operators, which were already imposing their own restrictions to curb over-use of machines, were told in May that legislation would come that would enable local authorities to limit the number of bookmakers’ shops in the country’s high streets.
According to research conducted by the industry, 75 per cent of players have their own voluntary cap on their spending and stop playing.
Said Richard Glynn, CEO at Ladbrokes (pictured): “This is a pretty material move forward. The purpose of this is to target individuals who could have a predisposition to harm. The industry over the past six to nine months has had a sea change. Social responsibility now sits at the heart of everything we do.”
Few players, he said, actually reach the £250 loss milestone or the 30-minute time limit. Most play for a few minutes and the average loss is about £8. He called for a period of stability, giving time to test the new measures before any strong-arm action by the government.
