We also heard stories from counsellors and those who provide services to help gamblers. In the first national study of the social impact of harmful gambling in Ireland, we examined how it affected recovering gamblers, their families and friends. Harmful gambling can have crippling financial and social effects on the gambler, their friends and family. Critics believe the proposals don’t go far enough to protect people from fixed odds betting terminals, sometimes described as “the crack cocaine of gambling” due to their addictive nature.
Given that the Gambling Commission, the industry regulator, found 43% of people who use the machines are either problem or at-risk gamblers, some such as opposition Labour MP Tom Watson, have described this as “ a squandered opportunity”. The UK government is mulling a review of the regulations on fixed odds betting terminals commonly found in pubs and betting shops, in order to reduce the risk of problem gambling developing.īased on a report from the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, this would see the maximum stake gamblers can bet on the machines reduced from £300 a minute to between £2 and £50.
