“The independent expert advice warned that this would simply shift people, the majority of whom gamble responsibly, to alternative forms of gambling where there is less chance of human interaction and its impact on problem gambling levels is far from certain.” We expect over 4,000 shops to close and 21,000 colleagues to lose their jobs. The Association of British Bookmakers, which has campaigned against a stake cut, said: “This is a decision that will have far-reaching implications for betting shops on the high street. Public Health England will also carry out a review of the damage to health caused by gambling, amid concern about the lack of attention it has received compared with alcohol and drugs.Ĭrouch warned the rest of the industry not to “take its foot off the pedal” on tackling addiction, warning online gambling firms in particular that they could face new restrictions unless they ramp up their efforts.ĭespite the warning to the wider industry, curbs on the UK’s 33,611 FOBTs, each of which take more than £53,000 from gamblers per year, garnered the most attention. TV adverts for gambling will have to show responsible gambling messages for their entire duration, while there will also be a dedicated TV ad campaign targeting addiction. The age limit for the national lottery, which can be played at 16, will also be reviewed, while online gambling firms will be made to tighten up age checks. They include the use of spending limits for online gambling until companies have carried out affordability checks to ensure gamblers have enough money to play. The government also outlined a package of gambling regulations designed to protect vulnerable people and the young. Individual gamblers lost more than £1,000 on FOBTs on more than 233,000 occasions in a single 10-month period, while one user lost £13,777.90 in only seven hours. Nearly 14% of people who use FOBTs are problem gamblers, according to Gambling Commission figures from 2016, higher than every other popular form of gambling.Ĭrouch said the government had also been concerned about the number of FOBTs in areas of high deprivation, given the high losses gamblers can rack up on the machines.

The sports minister, Tracey Crouch, who has led the review, said the government had been particularly concerned by the “consistently high rates of problem gamblers among players of these machines”.

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