FOBTs In The UK May Have Met Their Match In Mrs May

Whilst for the thrill of online betting Indonesia might be the hub of some pretty interesting new frontier style gambling, albeit not as secure and safe as Bet365, in the UK the government of Theresa May has just ordered a review of the effects of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, or FOBTs, following media coverage of the harm done by these ghastly machines that take the ability to risk just that little bit too far.

Being Home Secretary in the UK has never been the most glamorous of jobs in parliament however the endless parade of domestic problems with which the now Prime Minister Theresa May became familiar in the post will perhaps stand her in good stead as she seeks to calm a Britain facing Brexit, which sadly isn’t a high fibre cereal you eat in the mornings, but the process of leaving the EU that has left everyone in the UK gambling news of what that actually means will be published sometime soon.

Fixed Odds Betting Terminals

• The Crack Cocaine of Gambling
• 11.5 billion GBP since 2008
• 6% rise in numbers since 2010
• BBC’s Panorama link to studies

Whilst Brexit might be top of the agenda, Mrs. May has numerous other little issues to deal with and one of them has hit the headlines again as the flagship investigative journalism programme on the BBC ran an expose of the knock-on effects stemming from problem gambling and most particularly FOTBs, or fixed odds betting terminals, which in the UK have been dubbed by the press as being “the crack cocaine of gambling”, and in light of the report on Panorama has ordered ministers to review their UK operation.

Theresa May has called FOBTs the “crack cocaine of gambling” (photo: express.co.uk)

Bet365 Gives Better Odds In A Better Environment Than Any FOTB

UK gambling laws have always been some of the most liberal in the world and the ability of consumers to wager up to one hundred pounds every twenty seconds was protected under them, however as the Panorama report linked FOBTs to two suicides and pointed out that under the now disgraced David Cameron their number in the country rose by some 6% from 32,832 to 34,704, and the review he ordered was stopped by the Cabinet Office under pressure from the massive gambling lobby.

PM after the next Election

• Theresa May – 2/5
• Jeremy Corbyn – 7/1
• Owen Smith – 10/1
• Boris Johnson – 50/1
• Nigel Firage – 100/1

The coverage on the BBC, however, has prompted the tabloid press to lend its sizable bulk to the debate and highlight some of the issues, pivoting from the suicide of Ryan Myers into the fact that the machines are disproportionately found in poorer communities and are often used to launder money from robbery and other crime. Local councils want powers to prevent the proliferation of betting shops including FOBTs, but the question is, will the government of Mrs. May look away as did Mr Cameron’s?

Local Government To Get Extra powers under Mrs. May?

The answer is probably not. Whilst Theresa May will not dare to stop anyone who wants to put a bet on sports in the UK at Bet365 or elsewhere, the public pressure to do something about FOTBs could well see their days numbered or at least their stakes drastically reduced, which would by no means please critics but is the usual fudging of the issue the Conservative Party attempt with everything (as evidenced by the phrase “Brexit means Brexit” which means absolutely nothing whatsoever).

Nigel Firage has odds of 100/1 to be the UK’s next Prime Minister (photo: rt.com)

Some have also mentioned that in the some what shambolic wake of the Brexit vote British politics remains in a state of flux, and whilst Jeremy Corbyn is still 1/50 at Bet365 to retain his leadership of the opposition Labour party, with rival Owen Smith getting just 12/1, Theresa May still remains more likely to be PM after the next election, however early that comes. She garners 2/5 to still be in power after voters have their say, with Jeremy Corbyn just 7/1 to take over in Number 10, and if she does something about FOTBs the press coverage will see those odds of her winning tighten up even more so don’t expect this story to fade away any time soon.