Unwelcome news for the UK bookmakers and fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) came through a BBC investigation that was aired on television today.
The programme asserts that betting shop staff are being told to offer players perks and incentives to keep playing on the machines.
An ex-manager of a Coral betting office said he was instructed to offer free drinks and free bets to players if they keep playing. The report was backed by statements from other still-working betting shop managers who said that they were being placed under pressure to meet financial targets on the machines.
A Coral statement said that it – and the industry – takes its responsibilities towards the very small minority of problem gamblers very seriously and that there are measures in place to help people control their habits.
But a betting shop manager, simply named “John” in the televised investigation, said that staff were told to “do absolutely anything” to make machine players comfortable. “If the shop was too hot for them, we would have to turn the heating down or vice-versa. They were the gods of the betting shop.”
Malcolm George, representing the Association of British Bookmakers, said in the programme: “It is absolutely the case that anyone joining and working in a betting shop will receive training about problem gambling.”
Coral had rejected the allegations made by the BBC. In a statement it said: “Recent health surveys show that problem gambling rates have in fact fallen since the introduction of FOBTs and the average Coral customer’s loss per session on an FOBT is around £6-£9.
“The introduction of supervised stakes above £50 from April last year has had a profound change in customer behaviour with an approximate 70 per cent reduction in stakes above that level. Training, tools and processes are in place throughout the business to ensure that potential problem gamblers are identified and protected.”
The BBC report came during the Victoria Derbyshire programme, which is broadcast several times a week.
