Published
OnlineSports Betting

Bookmaker-commissioned report could be behind FOBT delay

Research commissioned by bookmakers is being reported to have influenced the UK government's decision to delay cutting stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

FOBT

Although stakes will be cut from £100 to £2, this won’t be put into place until October 2019. Chancellor Philip Hammond decided to delay the decision due to potential job losses within the gambling sector.

The decision was met with anger from anti-gambling campaigners, which also saw the resignation of Sports Minister Tracey Crouch.

But the report it is said to have been based on, which includes a disclaimer, was written by accountancy firm KPMG on behalf of the gambling industry.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who campaigned for FOBT stake reduction, said: “The chancellor has apparently decided to delay the stake cut on FOBTs because of date in a widely discredited report.

"This is policymaking of the worst kind, not based on evidence and pandering to a corporate interest at the expense of the public interest and the protection of the vulnerable."

The credibility of the report given by Treasury officials did not sit well with Paddy Power Betfair, who reportedly wrote to the prime minister to warn against it being used for the decision.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, a campaigner from Fairer Gambling, said: "Philip Hammond has got his sums wrong by basing them entirely on bookie-funded research that hasn’t been made available for public scrutiny."

Gambling Insider reached out to KPMG for comment.

Premium+ Connections
Premium

Digitain

 
Premium

GammaStack

 
Premium

Sport Generate

 
Premium

PIN-UP Partners

 
Premium

Lynon

 
Premium

RISK

 
Premium

Revsharks

 
 
Premium

1xBet Partners

 
Premium

Galaxsys

 
Premium

Imagine Live

 
Premium Connections
Consultancy

SCCG Management

Executive Profiles
Zeal Network SE

Stefan Tweraser

VIP Play

Les Ottolenghi

Scientific Games

Keshav Pitani

Social & App

Spribe CEO exclusive: Simplicity is the foundation

Spribe CEO David Natroshvili speaks to Gambling Insider abou...

Redefining iGaming: A history of crash games

Crash games is a growing vertical that has taken gambling by...

A certain something: What makes crash games special?

Crash games. They’re simple, they’re easy to learn and,...

Smarter innovation to shape the future

Spribe CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze discusses the past, present a...

Facing Facts: The corner of quarterly contemplation

With Q1 reports out across the industry, Gambling Insider co...

Taking Stock: A guide to key stock prices across the industry

Gambling Insider tracks prices from some of the industry’s...

15 years of Gambling Insider: From the Founders

Over the last 15 years, Gambling Insider magazine has interv...

15 years of Gambling Insider: The Awards over time

Global Gaming Awards Event Manager Mariya Savova gives us he...