Across Australia, responsible gambling advocates grow increasingly concerned about the amount of money that punters spend on poker machines. In the United Kingdom, similar concerns have risen, as Scottish players have spent $1.3 million on gaming machines in Glasgow alone. Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, has seen local players pump $1.3 billion into gaming machines that are located in betting shops.
Called Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), they are electronic gaming machines that allow players to place wagers on the outcome of the game in order potentially cash in on generous prizes. The increase in spending on gaming machines in Glasgow is attributed to the number of betting shops in the city. Since 2005, 210 new betting shops have opened up in Glasgow.
Each location contains several gaming machines, so local punters are offered up more opportunities to wager on these games. To combat the increase of gaming machine spending, local politicians aim to crack down on betting shops. They want to change planning laws to prevent several betting shops from being opened on the same street and in the same neighbourhood.
It is believed that betting shop owners converge in low-income areas, as punters in these neighbourhoods are more likely to spend money on gaming machines. As such, responsible gambling advocates want to limit the number of FOBTs that are permitted in these areas. “The truth is that FOBTs do not appeal to somebody who is more affluent,” says Adrian Parkinson of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling.
“Bookmakers are coalescing around certain areas that are more profitable in terms of FOBTs and moving out of other areas where FOBTs are not as appealing”. Politicians have pledged to enact a reform, presenting new regulations that will curb gaming machine spending in low-income areas across Glasgow. Several other UK cities have followed suit, in hopes that spending on pokies and FOBTs can be reduced over time.
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