{"id":67084,"date":"2018-01-11T14:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T22:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=67084"},"modified":"2018-01-12T12:07:22","modified_gmt":"2018-01-12T20:07:22","slug":"extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Extreme FOBT Max Bet Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study, But Betting Industry Still Balks"},"content":{"rendered":"

An impending fixed-odds betting terminal<\/a>\u00a0max bets crackdown in the UK would not have quite the crippling impact on the bookmaking industry, and by extension, government tax coffers, as has been previously suggested, according to new research.<\/p>\n

\"UK
Nick Hancock, the UK\u2019s new Minister for Culture Media and Sport, is understood to be more sympathetic to the betting industry than his predecessor and may be unlikely to sanction a \u201cdevastating\u201d slash of FOBT max stakes. (Image: cbi.org.uk)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) comes as the country\u2019s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) prepares to conclude a regulatory review on whether FOBT stakes should be reduced\u00a0from \u00a3100 ($137) per spin to as little as \u00a32 ($2.75).<\/p>\n

The report, commissioned by British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA), represents the gaming and arcade machine industry, but its members do not include bookmakers, who have the sole right to offer FOBT betting in the country.<\/p>\n

The new research suggests that a reduction to a \u00a32 maximum stake, as has been proposed in some quarters, would lead to a fall in revenues of \u00a3335 million ($459.9 million) for the bookmaking industry, almost half the \u00a3639 million ($877.4 million) most recently predicted by the DCMS.<\/p>\n

Bookies Warn of Industry Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The bookmaking industry has warned this would result in 20,000 job losses and that it would threaten half the nation\u2019s betting shops with closure.<\/p>\n

The industry\u2019s own research, undertaken by financial analyst KMPG, warned that the government would lose \u00a31 billion ($1.2 billion) in tax revenues and that the retail betting sector would be \u201cdevastated.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while the CEBR report acknowledges that a dramatic reduction in stakes would result in less tax revenue for the government, it believes this would be partly offset by savings from spending on problem gambling initiatives.<\/p>\n

CEBR estimates that the UK government<\/a> spends \u00a3210 million ($288.3 million) per year because of problem gambling directly linked to FOBTs.<\/p>\n

\u201cA \u00a32 stake is the sole option to effectively safeguard consumers from harm,\u201d announced BACTA on its website. \u201cWe hope that the robust modeling, provided by the CEBR, will help the Government in this vital decision. It is clear that the economic impact will be slight and so we urge the DCMS to bring this dangerous anomaly into line.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Billions at Stake <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The controversial machines are loathed by anti-gambling campaigners and opposition politicians alike, who claim the FOBTs have increased problem gambling and other social problems. But the lucrative terminals have also provided billions of pounds in tax revenue since their introduction in 2004.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it appears Theresa May\u2019s government has determined that a reduction will occur, to somewhere between \u00a350 ($69) and \u00a33 ($4).<\/p>\n

Adding to the drama is the recent addition of Matt Hancock as head of the DCMS, a politician who is more sympathetic to the bookmaking industry, .<\/p>\n

The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) this week rejected the findings of the new report, emphasizing that CEBR has a vested interest in pushing for as large a reduction as possible. CEBR is seeking an increase to the maximum stakes of its called \u201cnon-complex\u201d category D machines, which include the \u201ccrane grab\u201d units, commonly found in fairground and seaside arcades.<\/p>\n

The ABB has previously called the all-party group that laid the groundwork of the FOBT review \u201ca club of anti-betting shop MPs (Members of Parliament), funded by amusement arcades and casinos with commercial interest in attacking betting shops.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An impending fixed-odds betting terminal\u00a0max bets crackdown in the UK would not have quite the crippling impact on the bookmaking industry, and by extension, government tax coffers, as has been previously suggested, according to new research. A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) comes as the country\u2019s Department for Culture, Media […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":67087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Research Suggests Drastic FOBT Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fixed-odds betting terminal maximum stakes reduction would not hurt the betting industry as was previously expected. FOBT operators should not suffer as much as suggested.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Research Suggests Drastic FOBT Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fixed-odds betting terminal maximum stakes reduction would not hurt the betting industry as was previously expected. FOBT operators should not suffer as much as suggested.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-11T22:00:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-01-12T20:07:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/\",\"name\":\"New Research Suggests Drastic FOBT Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-11T22:00:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-01-12T20:07:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Fixed-odds betting terminal maximum stakes reduction would not hurt the betting industry as was previously expected. FOBT operators should not suffer as much as suggested.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Nick Hancock, the UK\u2019s new Minister for Culture Media and Sport, is understood to be more sympathetic to betting industry than his predecessor and may be unlikely to sanction a \u201cdevastating\u201d slash of FOBT max. stakes. (Image: cbi.org.uk)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Extreme FOBT Max Bet Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study, But Betting Industry Still Balks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Research Suggests Drastic FOBT Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study","description":"Fixed-odds betting terminal maximum stakes reduction would not hurt the betting industry as was previously expected. FOBT operators should not suffer as much as suggested.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Research Suggests Drastic FOBT Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study","og_description":"Fixed-odds betting terminal maximum stakes reduction would not hurt the betting industry as was previously expected. FOBT operators should not suffer as much as suggested.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2018-01-11T22:00:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-01-12T20:07:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/","name":"New Research Suggests Drastic FOBT Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-11T22:00:56+00:00","dateModified":"2018-01-12T20:07:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Fixed-odds betting terminal maximum stakes reduction would not hurt the betting industry as was previously expected. FOBT operators should not suffer as much as suggested.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/maxresdefault-2.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Nick Hancock, the UK\u2019s new Minister for Culture Media and Sport, is understood to be more sympathetic to betting industry than his predecessor and may be unlikely to sanction a \u201cdevastating\u201d slash of FOBT max. stakes. (Image: cbi.org.uk)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/extreme-max-bet-fobt-reduction-not-so-bad-says-study\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Extreme FOBT Max Bet Reduction Not So Bad, Says Study, But Betting Industry Still Balks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}