Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Grant on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to work with the gambling industry on the regulation of fixed odds betting terminals.
Tracey Crouch
A: In April 2015 the Government introduced regulations which require authorisation of stakes over £50 on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) through a “verified account” or staff interaction. The bookmakers shared data with my officials and the Gambling Commission to enable Government to conduct an evaluation of the £50 regulations, published on 21 January. The evaluation can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-gaming-machine-circumstances-of-useamendment-regulations-2015
In addition, the Association of British Bookmakers introduced a Code for Responsible Gambling in 2013, updated in 2015, which includes a number of measures relating to FOBTs including the ability to set time and spend limits on gaming machines, the ability to access player statements, and the introduction of Player Awareness Systems which use data analytics to intervene where customers behaviour indicates they may be experiencing problems in their play. The Government meets regularly with industry to discuss player protection measures.
