Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals : a Briefing

Spending on fixed odd betting terminals (FOBTs) makes up only 13.6% of the UK’s total gambling expenditure. This is less than half the amount spent on either lotteries or online gambling. The amount spent on FOBTs has been greatly exaggerated in the media as a result of confusion about what is staked and what is lost. Britain currently has fewer betting shops than at any time since 2003 and has barely half as many as it had in the 1960s. There is no evidence of a rise in problem gambling since 1999. Rates of problem gambling in Britain are low by international standards. FOBTs are one way for the incumbent betting industry to keep pace with changing tastes in a digital world. Regulation cannot afford to be anachronistic in a market in which punters can place unlimited bets on their mobile phones. Existing regulation and taxation is more than adequate, if not excessive, for a gambling product that is only available in licensed, adult-only establishments