The Guardian – As MPs debate the impact of fixed-odds betting machines, we look at the data to find out which forms of gambling are the most popular in which parts of the country – and what has changed.
Labour is to press the coalition on their gambling policy on Wednesday during an opposition day debate. Ed Miliband has said Labour would give councils the power to ban high-stakes roulette machines from bookmakers’ shops, and the party wants the government to adopt similar plans.
The gambling industry has been accused of focusing these roulette machines (known as fixed-odds betting terminals, or FOBTs) in the UK’s poorer areas, reaping enormous financial rewards in the process. We look at the evidence on those claims.
The Gambling Commission, using data provided by bookmakers, estimated there were 33,284 FOBTs in betting shops located across the UK in 2012. The declared gross profit from these machines was £1.42bn last year, meaning the average weekly profit per machine was £825, up from £760 in 2011.
Last month, HMRC also published statistics on how much the government earns from betting taxes. The figures are considerable – in 2012-13, the government received £1.7bn in betting and gaming duties, representing 0.4% of all HMRC revenue. For comparison, HMRC earnt £26.6bn from fuel duty and £41bn from corporation tax during the same period.
£831m comes from lottery duties and £75m from bingo – but the total government revenue from machine games is currently nil. A tax on these machines was not introduced until 1 February 2013, so no revenues have yet been recorded from this mode of gaming.
