Westminster may have made a landmark decision to significantly reduce the stakes on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2 per spin, but the stakes in Northern Ireland will remain at £100 unless further action is taken.

The machines, dubbed the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’ are highly addictive; gamblers can bet £100 every 20 seconds on the machines. FOBT’s have been linked closely to crippling debt, crime, mental health issues, marriage and family breakdown and in extreme cases – suicide.

FOBTs have largely been ignored by policy-makers in Northern Ireland, operating in a legal grey area. Research has shown that they are found clustered in the most economically-deprived areas, having a significantly negative impact on local communities and on vulnerable people.

There are at least several hundred FOBTs are currently operating in Northern Ireland. An exact figure cannot be given as the Department for Communities does not record the number of gambling machines operating in Northern Ireland.

CARE in Northern Ireland Policy Officer, Mark Baillie speaks out

“It is untenable for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to continue to operate in Northern Ireland at £100 per spin.”

“Northern Ireland has the highest rate of problem gamblers in the UK, four times more than England does. Inaction of FOBTs therefore is just not a viable option.”

“We call on all political parties in Northern Ireland represented at Westminster and the Northern Ireland Assembly to commit to taking action to resolve this issue.”

Ends

Notes to the editor:

CARE for NI has been a leading voice in calling for change in gambling legislation in Northern Ireland, and has spoken out about the harmful effects of FOBTs on individuals and society.

Report shows Northern Ireland has more than Four Times as Many Problem Gamblers as England -Northern Ireland has a higher proportion of ‘problem gamblers’ than any other UK region, a new report has found. The 2016 Northern Ireland Gambling Prevalence Survey identified 2.3% of people as being problem gamblers in the UK; more than four times the figure for England, which stands at 0.5%.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/interactive/2014/feb/28/gambling-betting-map-england-data

England's poorest bet £13bn on gambling machines - Amount gambled on high-speed machines in deprived boroughs is double that staked in richest areas, report claims

Research shows link between problem gambling and proliferation of betting shops with FOBTs

Wheel of Misfortune: the case for lowering the stakes on FOBTs – ResPublica and Fairer Gambling report, Oct 2017