- Former Minister said body of evidence shows terminals fuel addiction
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- Punters lose up to £300 a minute on computer roulette on high streets
By TIM SHIPMAN
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Attack: Former Minister Tom Watson has blasted Tony Blair's Labour administration for giving rise to the betting crisis across the UK today
New Labour ‘dropped the ball’ by giving the green light to fixed odds betting terminals dubbed the ‘crack cocaine’ of the High Street, a leading Labour MP said last night.
Former Minister Tom Watson said Labour ‘should never have licensed these machines’ as his party prepares today to force a Commons vote on the issue.
Liberal Democrats - who want a crackdown on the betting machines - will be challenged to back a Labour motion calling for councils to get the right to ban the terminals if they cause problem gambling and anti-social behaviour.
But Mr Watson said fixed odds terminals, which allow punters to lose up to £300 a minute on computer roulette, should never have been licensed in the Gambling of Act of 2005.
He told the BBC’s Daily Politics show: ‘There’s a body of evidence that these particular kind of machines create in gambling addicts, and that’s something that Parliament should act on.
'Frankly we [Labour] should never really have licensed these machines in the way we did in 2005 and we should put the matter right as quickly as possible.
‘At the time all MPs let this category of machines go through almost on the nod. Our concern was supercasinos and the machines that go into supercasinos.
‘We basically dropped the ball on this one. We didn’t understand the impact this technology would have on the High Street. Now’s the time to put it right.’
Campaigners say there is academic evidence that the fixed odds machines are more addictive than other forms of gambling and say they are used by criminals to launder their money.
But ministers have refused to act until a review into betting machines is completed this autumn - a review that critics complain has been funded by the gambling industry.
Mr Watson said waiting for the review is ‘like waiting for the polar ice caps to melt -- we’ve been waiting years for this’.
Punters lose up to £300 a minute on computer roulette games in high street betting shops like Coral
There are more than 33,000 FOBTs in Britain, with up to four in each high street betting shop. The so-called B2 machines made bookmakers £1.55billion last year - around half their annual profits -- with up to £1.2 billion of that coming from the fixed odds games.
Ed Miliband has announced that a future Labour government would give councils the power to ban high-stakes roulette machines from bookmakers’ shops if they pose problems in their communities.
Labour also plan to change the law so the time between plays is doubled from 20 to 40 seconds and put betting shops in a separate planning class so that councils can use planning powers to control the number opening in their area.
That last idea was endorsed by the Liberal Democrats at their party conference last September.
Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford challenged the Lib Dems to back Labour’s motion in the Commons today: ‘Across the country, traditional bookies are being turned into mini-casinos, where people can gamble up to £300-a-minute.
Saturday's Mail: We went to get a first-hand view of the crippling effects of fixed-odds betting terminals
The next Labour government will give powers to local communities to ban high stakes gambling machines from high streets.
‘Over recent months, we’ve seen the Tories and Lib Dems posturing on fixed odds betting machines, but totally failing to act.
‘If the Tories and Lib Dems refuse to back Labour’s proposals they’ll have to answer why they are standing up for the large betting companies rather than communities across the country.’
But former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy made clear that his party would not back Labour’s motion because they are waiting for the review to conclude.
Charles Kennedy: ‘I just think this is pre-emptive and premature. I have every sympathy with Tom’s argument and I hope the review will endorse it up this is putting the cart before the horse. It’s procedural not principled.’
Peter Craske, of the Association of British Bookmakers, said: ‘Gaming machines in betting shops are not new, they have been enjoyed by our customers for over 12 years.
‘This motion is just playing politics with the livelihoods of 40,000 staff and the enjoyment of eight million people.
‘Our new code for responsible gambling introduces new measures that will reduce harm, letting players set their own limits on the time they play or the amount they spend.
‘Banning a product for a political punch line does nothing to help problem gambler.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2535591/We-dropped-ball-gambling-says-Labour-MP-Tom-Watson-believes-party-never-licenced-fixed-odds-machines.html#ixzz2pmeF73wZ
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