Grimsby Telegraph – I AM WRITING in response to the article printed on Monday, February 10, in the Grimsby Telegraph: “£34 million – the shocking amount poured into fixed odds betting machines dubbed; The crack cocaine of gambling.”
At the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), we were very disappointed that the Grimsby Telegraph made reference to the unfounded statistic that “£34m was spent on gambling machines in betting shops across North East Lincolnshire” and that £34.3 million in cash was poured into the machines.
Such figures are inaccurate estimates of turnover on B2 machine content (e.g. roulette games) and provide a misleading account of what is happening in the industry. The article states that these figures emanate from research commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFFG) and are the latest complete figures available.
We do not accept the veracity of these statistics and have challenged the CFFG to publish the methodology which underpins the research. Despite several requests over the past year, the CFFG has failed to publish this. Of particular concern is that the data has not been independently verified by the Gambling Commission, ONS or any other independent organisation. We therefore believe that great care should be taken with these. For example, the turnover estimates include recycled winnings on the machine and therefore are not all attributable to customer money being poured into the machine. These figures also include a significant amount of turnover and money lost on £2 slot machine games that customers can play on these terminals and which are not being dubbed the “crack cocaine of gambling. The betting industry in the UK is heavily regulated and socially responsible and we work hard to ensure our customers play safely and responsibly. We are bringing in a range of new harm minimisation measures including voluntary limits and mandatory alerts on time and money spent on gaming machines in the Grimsby area on March 1. We are always open to answering any questions.
