(Strangford)
(DUP):...The Salvation Army, which deals with the
problems that gambling brings to the community, has said:
“It is well acknowledged that FOBTs have caused concern across
the political and social spectrum. FOBTs have been labelled the
‘crack cocaine’ of gambling. One gambler told us that he spent
£2,000 a day on FOBTs at bookies without being challenged.”
(South Antrim) (DUP):
I appreciate my hon. Friend’s reference to the Salvation Army.
One of the other issues that I have major concerns about—I wonder
whether my hon. Friend agrees—is the accounts of people being
given a line of credit of £1,500 without any credit checks on
their ability to pay it back. People have been given a £1,500
line of credit and unfortunately it ends up being a potential
noose—and I mean that—around their neck. That problem is arising
and it is caused by those who do not do checks. Any other
financial industry would do checks to ensure the person had the
ability to pay the money back.
: I thank my hon.
Friend for his wise intervention.
The Salvation Army also says:
“Another man who became homeless as a result of his addiction and
who was helped by the Salvation Army lost over £30,000 on
gambling machines.”
I do not think that there is one Member in this Chamber who would
not be able to recollect a story of this kind from their
constituencies. It is the story of the man who plays on a FOBT
machine on a Friday night and puts all his wages on it, before
going home to his wife, who is looking for the money to buy the
groceries, and their children. Those are the stories of real
life; those are the stories of addiction; and those are the
stories that we want to stop in this Chamber today...
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