The event was chaired by Stuart McMillan MSP, who has been campaigning to restrict high stakes Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) in Scotland for some time.
The West of Scotland MSP insisted he was not against the ability to gamble, but found the issue of FOBTs “quite awful and appalling” given that up to £100 can be gambled on every 20-second spin. McMillan made clear he would like to see certain powers transferred to the Scottish Parliament to tie in with existing licensing powers. He is also in favour of increased powers over town and city centres to ensure a “more successful town centre operation” in terms of economic regeneration; as opposed to the current proliferation of bookmakers and payday lenders.
Campaign consultants Adrian Parkinson and Matt Zarb-Cousin also spoke at the event. Adrian, a former industry insider responsible for FOBTs, discussed his time in the industry and explained how his experience of FOBTs brought him to campaign for their restriction. Referencing
problematic gambling,
money laundering,
under age gamblingand the economic cost of FOBT gambling which could be costing the Scottish economy an estimated 2,000 jobs a year, he warned SNP members that planning controls were not the ultimate solution to the problems caused by FOBTs.
He said: “The question for Westminster and Scotland is - what is a safe and responsible level for machine gambling on the high street? The coalition says that £2 is safe everywhere else except betting shops. It is the £100 staking level in betting shops that is causing the social and economic problems that have driven one English council, backed by over 70 others, to call for stakes on FOBTs to be reduced to £2 per spin. A stake reduction to £2 is also the answer for Scotland.”
Matt Zarb-Cousin spoke of his addiction to FOBTs, which began at the age of 16 thanks to lax age verification compliance in betting shops. He described how he started gambling at £1 or £2 a spin, but quickly became desensitised to safer staking levels and after a few months was betting £30-£40 a spin. His addiction then saw him work up to the maximum bet of £100 per spin. An early big win of £700 saw the addiction take hold, alongside the delusion that losses could be successfully chased.
Matt said: “FOBTs are extremely addictive. But, despite assurances from the Government and the industry, their addictive nature is not being assessed by the Responsible Gambling Trust’s research, which is due to be published next month. Instead of investigating the potential that the £100 staking capacity has on inducing gambling-related harm, the Responsible Gambling Trust is finding out how players can stay in control whilst playing FOBTs. This sort of whitewash is inevitable when the industry is involved in the commissioning of research.”
Support for action on betting shops and FOBTs, which have now become known as the UK’s most addictive gambling product, was unanimous among attendees. Glasgow SNP Councillor Norman Macleod, who used to work in the betting industry, commended the Campaign on its work so far and urged his fellow councillors and members to support action to cut the stakes to £2 per spin.
Questions were also raised about the credibility of the Gambling Commission and why it was not taking more decisive action against FOBTs. When told that the Director of Regulatory Compliance had advocated no government control over machine stakes, one member of the audience asked if the Gambling Commission was “corrupt or just stupid”.
The Campaign then presented the latest FOBT statistics for Scotland, which showed that £822 million had been inserted into the machines. From this, over £156 million had been lost, with an estimated £36 million coming from pathologically addicted players.
Countering the perception that the planning changes contained in the Scottish Executive’s consultation would deal with the issue of betting shops clustering on high streets, the Campaign highlighted the disjoint this would create if the current “aim to permit test” was not replaced with a demand test.
The Campaign’s submission to the consultationhas raised this concern. An SNP councillor who is on both licensing and planning committees said this was already causing issues for Councils.
With Scotland now in negotiations for legislative power over gambling, FOBTs look set to figure prominently as part of that debate. As is increasingly becoming clear in England – the solution for Scotland is also £2 per spin.