The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport (Mims Davies):...Following
consultation and the consideration of all relevant evidence, the
Government announced in May our decision to reduce the maximum
stake on sub-category B2 gaming machines, informally known
as Fixed
Odds Betting Terminals, to £2. The decision was met with
enthusiasm from many quarters. Local authorities, charities, faith
groups, interest groups and academics all submitted opinions in
favour of a £2 limit. Parliament—including many hon. Members
present today—was no exception in expressing its emphatic support
for the Government’s intentions.
I want to add my personal thanks to the all-party parliamentary
group on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, led by the hon.
Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), and to my right hon.
Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan
Smith) and the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan), for
their consistent support on this policy. I worked closely on it
with the previous Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham
and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch). I thank her for all her work, and
I am delighted to be in a position to bring forward this
progressive legalisation...
(East Ham)
(Lab):...I also pay tribute to local authorities outside
of the House. My local authority, Newham, has provided valuable
support to the all-party parliamentary group
on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals—the one
local authority to do so. I pay tribute to the current Mayor of
Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, and to her long-serving predecessor,
. I also pay tribute to
Christian Action Research and Education, which has been a
consistent supporter, with Newham Council, of the APPG...
...I quoted a former Paddy Power manager, who told me of
families and businesses ruined while he was managing a shop, and
of students who gambled away their student loans. He estimated
that on a typical day in any Paddy Power shop with
four Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, as they
all have, one could meet half a dozen people whose lives had been
destroyed by their addiction to these vile machines. A big use of
the terminals has been to launder the proceeds of drug crime,
giving criminals an apparently legitimate source for their cash.
They are in those shops day in and day out...
...With the reform package that we introduced, part of its
aim was to make low-margin betting products viable. I did not
know then about Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, but I
remember asking industry representatives—I particularly recall a
conversation with somebody from Ladbrokes—whether the industry
would use this change and behave responsibly. Looking me in the
eye, that individual assured me that it would...
(St Helens North)
(Lab):...We need to focus very strongly on
treating the addiction and while I welcome any moves to tackle
problem gambling, all I would say about Fixed Odds Betting Terminals is
that, first, as a punter I do not like them, I have never played
them and I cannot see the attraction at all for anyone. However,
we need to be careful in this victory lap of virtue— not to be
too flippant about it—that we do not see this change as the
panacea to all of the ills...
...The Government provided clear assurances to British racing.
The Department’s letter to the British Horseracing Authority
stated:
“We understand that the Government’s decision on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals is not at
all straightforward for the horseracing industry, and we want to
work very closely with you to mitigate any risks.”
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
