It’s been more than five months since the government announced plans to reduce the maximum stake on machines in bookmakers’ shops from £100 to just £2 by April 2019.
However, the Guardian has reported this change may be delayed until October 2019, which has angered campaigners – including MPs, who want gambling companies to implement the change by the original deadline.
Christian charity Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) have also campaigned for the maximum stake to be cut.
Its spokesperson James Mildred told Premier the implementation has already been too slow and that it would be “incredibly difficult to understand the justification for delaying a much welcomed and much anticipated and much needed cut in the maximum stake”.
Sharing his concerns during Premier’s News Hour, he added: “You can lose vast amounts of money in a very, very, very short space of time.
“Research that CARE has done has demonstrated that these fixed-odds betting terminals are predominantly clustered in economically deprived areas and it is fuelling problem gambling.”
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) opted for a new maximum stake of £2 back in May 2018.
According to CARE, the estimated take-home for bookmakers of delaying the cut is thought to be £900m – based on the current rate of winnings.
Mildred said he fears betting firms are applying pressure on…
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