Debate on challenges facing problem gamblers, House of Lords, Thursday 23 November 2017

Problem gambling can impact on individuals and their families’ physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing as well as having a wider impact on society through crime and disorder.

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Key messages

  • Problem gambling can impact on individuals and their families’ physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing as well as having a wider impact on society through crime and disorder.
  • Councils are not anti-gambling, but the gross gambling yield from fixed odds betting terminals rose from £1.05 billion in April 2008 to £1.73 billion in March 2016. This 65 per cent increase in eight years shows that the Gambling Act has not struck the right balance between freedom for businesses to develop as they wish and the concerns and needs of local communities.
  • The maximum stakes on fixed odds betting terminals (B2 gaming machines) should be reduced to £2. This is because the current maximum stake of £100 is significantly out of line with the maximum amounts that can be staked on other types of gaming machines. There is also credible evidence that these machines may be particularly addictive and therefore pose a greater risk to problem gamblers, as well as being linked to anti-social behaviour and crime in betting shops.

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Debate on challenges facing problem gamblers, House of Lords, Thursday 23 November 2017