In Australia, welfare organisations have been concerned about the proliferation of problem gambling among gaming machine players. A similar issue is being seen in the United Kingdom, as welfare groups are concerned that Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) attract problem gamblers. Now, a new study has found that there is some truth to these concerns.
According to a recent study commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust, more than a third of punters who wager on FOBTs are problem gamblers. The study involved 4000 punters, 37% of which experience gambling problems. It found that many players would spend £1 200 a week on the games, and many of the players make just £10,400 a year.
This suspect spending on FOBTs has also raised some alarming questions about where the money is coming from. Adrian Parkinson of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling says: “We’ve long argued that drug dealers who start money-laundering to legitimise their criminal earnings on FOBTs, especially the younger ones very quickly get drawn into the addictive nature of high-stake roulette play.
Combined with welfare payments there is a strong case that these machines are taking both illicit money and that of the state welfare system.” These numbers have become increasingly alarming, as more and more FOBTs continue to proliferate in betting shops across the United Kingdom. Currently, there are 33 000 pokies in high streets across the country – compared to a decade ago when there were very few.
As the number of FOBTs continues to grow, there are concerns that problem gambling rates will continue to rise as well. There have been various campaigns to prevent more FOBTs from being installed in UK high streets in order to prevent the growth of problem gambling.
However, responsible gambling campaigners continue to experience difficulty in gaining support for their cause.
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