Don't Bet On It

Rowenna Davis writes:

MPs have today handed a massive coup to the gambling industry. The Commons culture committee has recommended the removal of the limit on the number of slot machines per betting shop, further deregulating an industry that is already causing massive damage to our communities.

The machines – known as "fixed odds betting terminals" – are the brave new face of gambling. They drive modern profits, but they are also fuelling a new rise in debt and addiction. Experts have called them the "crack cocaine of gambling". You can lose £18,000 an hour without talking to a soul. They require no skill.

The proliferation of bookmakers is already causing huge problems in poorer areas, where these stores are clustering in the recession. In Southwark, where I serve as a councillor, we already have 67 outlets. Local police teams tell me they are a source of crime and antisocial behaviour, as fights break out over debts and winnings. Churches tell me they are adding to their waiting lists for debt and addiction counselling. Business owners tell me proliferation deters people from visiting their high streets and damages growth.

The idea that these recommendations give more power to local people is a total farce. Councils currently have no meaningful powers to limit the spread of bookmakers in their areas – I have tried and failed to block several new stores opening in my area this year. These recommendations will simply make bookmakers more profitable, and more powerful. Australia is an example of a country that allowed a limitless spread of machines. The increase in problem gambling was so acute that they are now rowing back on that move. Here, MPs seem to be basing their decision on lobbying from the gambling industry rather than evidence.

I have no problem with having the odd bookmaker's on the high street. I've even been known to place a bet myself. But when demand for a product comes with negative social consequences, it needs responsible regulation. If you visit the vast number of betting shops in Peckham, it's often the clients and workers in the stores who say there are now too many stores and machines, that it's too easy for them to gamble. It's time to cut the risk. If ministers were seriously interested in giving power to local communities, they would support High Streets First's campaign to give councils the power to prevent more bookmakers opening. Right now our representatives have left the people powerless, and the industry more powerful.