Attempts to reduce gambling addiction in the Medway towns have led to calls for stronger regulation on fixed odds machines.
Source: Bookies’ gambling machines in Medway towns criticised – BBC News
The conclusions of the review into fixed odds betting terminals will soon be announced. In the context of this announcement the BBC clip hyperlinked above is very pertinent.
Has the Minister managed to get independent advice on the world research that certainly supports an increase in the interval between ‘spins’, a reduction in stakes and the use of technology to help people with gambling problems? Or has the Minister had the views she talks about in the clip changed by the industry lobby?
When your portfolio is so wide it’s difficult to be an ‘expert’ in everything, so has it been possible to sort the propaganda from the evidence that is based on appropriately designed independent research?
We will see.
‘Justice for Punters’, which has no funding conflicts, supports a dramatic reduction in stake levels, an increase in the time between ‘spins’ and perhaps most important of all the use of technology, like the Norway approach. Industry lobbyists and trade organisations regularly ‘rubbish’ the potential of technology to help with problem gambling. We all know why. The industry is frightened of its potential, so they have to criticise it. You don’t need new expensive technology, we already have the technology that will help immensely, both in-shop and online, so get using it NOW.