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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/04/end-scourge-of-fixed-odds-betting-terminals
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| End the scourge of fixed-odds betting terminals | End the scourge of fixed-odds betting terminals |
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| “Oh Liz,” was the spontaneous, empathetic response of Carolyn Quinn on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme to a mother talking about her student son’s suicide that resulted from an inability to break his addiction to gambling. “Jack” was a student who had started gambling on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) at school and continued at university. “He wanted to stop. It wasn’t fun,” said his mother. He was addicted and he moved his gambling online. Despite every effort on his or his parents’ part, he fell back into gambling while abroad and saw no way back. | “Oh Liz,” was the spontaneous, empathetic response of Carolyn Quinn on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme to a mother talking about her student son’s suicide that resulted from an inability to break his addiction to gambling. “Jack” was a student who had started gambling on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) at school and continued at university. “He wanted to stop. It wasn’t fun,” said his mother. He was addicted and he moved his gambling online. Despite every effort on his or his parents’ part, he fell back into gambling while abroad and saw no way back. |
| Those two words “Oh Liz” voiced the feelings of many. This powerful moment was followed by the news of Tracey Crouch’s resignation as parliamentary under-secretary at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, in whose remit gambling regulation falls. | Those two words “Oh Liz” voiced the feelings of many. This powerful moment was followed by the news of Tracey Crouch’s resignation as parliamentary under-secretary at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, in whose remit gambling regulation falls. |
| I spoke on air afterwards about the scale of the problem of gambling addiction and its social cost. I doubt that anything I said or could say will match the eloquence of the personal story of unnecessary loss or the courage of personal and professional sacrifice on a point of principle. | I spoke on air afterwards about the scale of the problem of gambling addiction and its social cost. I doubt that anything I said or could say will match the eloquence of the personal story of unnecessary loss or the courage of personal and professional sacrifice on a point of principle. |
| Young people are seeing on average four advertisements for gambling every day, especially at sporting events | Young people are seeing on average four advertisements for gambling every day, especially at sporting events |
| Politicians and campaigners are united in seeking the earliest possible introduction of the maximum £2 stake for FOBTs, which will alleviate some of the devastating consequences of people addicted to gambling on them, some who can lose their homes and savings to them and then take their lives in desperation. | Politicians and campaigners are united in seeking the earliest possible introduction of the maximum £2 stake for FOBTs, which will alleviate some of the devastating consequences of people addicted to gambling on them, some who can lose their homes and savings to them and then take their lives in desperation. |
| The tragic example of Jack focuses on an issue that was prominent in a debate in the House of Lords about gambling on Thursday: the number of young people drawn into gambling and becoming addicts. Young people are seeing, on average, four advertisements for gambling every day, especially those involved with sporting events or on football shirts, and there is evidence that some console and online gaming is associated with a form of gambling. Some students see gambling as a way of helping with debt. All this is normalising gambling as integral to sport, gaming, a night out or even study and as fun. | The tragic example of Jack focuses on an issue that was prominent in a debate in the House of Lords about gambling on Thursday: the number of young people drawn into gambling and becoming addicts. Young people are seeing, on average, four advertisements for gambling every day, especially those involved with sporting events or on football shirts, and there is evidence that some console and online gaming is associated with a form of gambling. Some students see gambling as a way of helping with debt. All this is normalising gambling as integral to sport, gaming, a night out or even study and as fun. |
| No addiction is fun. | No addiction is fun. |
| The NHS is picking up the estimated £260m-£1.2bn bill for the health consequences of gambling addiction, including the 100 addicts who have been hospitalised. There are 430,000 people with gambling issues now in the UK, according to the Gambling Commission, and only one dedicated centre dealing with this addiction. | The NHS is picking up the estimated £260m-£1.2bn bill for the health consequences of gambling addiction, including the 100 addicts who have been hospitalised. There are 430,000 people with gambling issues now in the UK, according to the Gambling Commission, and only one dedicated centre dealing with this addiction. |
| The industry is lobbying to keep more of the £1.8bn annual profits from FOBTs before the stake reduction comes, claiming that jobs will be lost. I have compassion for anyone who experiences the uncertainty of job loss, but the government says that employment and job creation are at an all-time high. Losing a job that can be replaced does not equate to losing a life, which cannot. | The industry is lobbying to keep more of the £1.8bn annual profits from FOBTs before the stake reduction comes, claiming that jobs will be lost. I have compassion for anyone who experiences the uncertainty of job loss, but the government says that employment and job creation are at an all-time high. Losing a job that can be replaced does not equate to losing a life, which cannot. |
| Responsible employers would also take more action to protect staff in betting shops, who can face violence from desperate FOBT users, yet there is evidence that the two-employees-on-duty rule is not always observed. Are the bookmakers protecting jobs or profits? | Responsible employers would also take more action to protect staff in betting shops, who can face violence from desperate FOBT users, yet there is evidence that the two-employees-on-duty rule is not always observed. Are the bookmakers protecting jobs or profits? |
| It is not just bookmakers but also sporting organisations that refuse to face the consequences of what they are doing. Eight Premier League football clubs, says the chief executive of the NHS, are accepting sponsorship by firms that refuse to pay towards the costs the NHS faces tackling gambling addiction. | It is not just bookmakers but also sporting organisations that refuse to face the consequences of what they are doing. Eight Premier League football clubs, says the chief executive of the NHS, are accepting sponsorship by firms that refuse to pay towards the costs the NHS faces tackling gambling addiction. |
| I am not anti-business – I am pro-victims. I am angry about impunity. Bookmakers taking huge profits and football clubs taking sponsorship from gambling and leaving the NHS to pick up the bill and families to face grief is privatising profit and nationalising consequences. It has to stop. There are a lot of Jacks and their families who would be very grateful. | I am not anti-business – I am pro-victims. I am angry about impunity. Bookmakers taking huge profits and football clubs taking sponsorship from gambling and leaving the NHS to pick up the bill and families to face grief is privatising profit and nationalising consequences. It has to stop. There are a lot of Jacks and their families who would be very grateful. |
| The Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith is the bishop of St Albans | The Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith is the bishop of St Albans |
| Fixed-odds betting terminals | Fixed-odds betting terminals |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Gambling | Gambling |
| Premier League | Premier League |
| NHS | NHS |
| Health | Health |
| Young people | Young people |
| Mental health | |
| comment | comment |
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