This week, the UK’s Labour Party will force a vote on a law that will change the way gaming machines are regulated in the country. The law will give local councils the power to decide whether or not fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) will be permitted in betting shops in various neighbourhoods across their jurisdictions.

Over the course of the past few years, responsible gambling advocates in the United Kingdom have struggled with the proliferation of FOBTs and gaming machines in betting shops. There has been a significant increase in the number of games this year. Previously, the Labour Party relaxed gaming machine laws, allowing betting shops to begin offering electronic gaming services.

Now that new politicians head the party, they want to tighten up the laws again to stop numbers from rising even further. The new legislation would reclassify betting shops. Since betting shops are in the same category as banks, they are allowed to be opened virtually anywhere a betting operator chooses.

Changing the category will allow local councillors to weigh in on the number of shops that are permitted to open in their jurisdictions, limiting the number of new gaming machines that are introduced into the community. The vote will be forced this week, and responsible gambling advocates hope that it will bear better results that the recent vote on betting machine stakes.

Towards the end of 2013, MPs voted against a bill that would have reduced the maximum stake from £100 to £2 and limited prizes to £500. The new legislation seems to be a fair compromise; however, betting shops have become reliant on revenue from gaming machines. Since they bring in upwards of $1.5 billion ($2.7 billion AUD), some of which is put back into the community, MPs are reluctant to turn down this revenue stream.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.