Poisoning the well: how FOBTs turned gambling toxic

In 2011 a collection of senior executives from the gambling industry gathered in a dining room at Mark's Club, an exclusive Mayfair private members' club, to discuss what some believed was a gathering crisis for the betting industry.

After a decade of liberalisation and growth, some saw storm clouds in the distance. Profits had never been higher, sent soaring ever upwards by football betting, online and especially fixed-odds betting terminals, but booming revenues had come at a cost: as gambling proliferated, so too had an understanding of the human cost it could exact on those who could not control their betting.

The proposal laid out over dinner that evening at Mark's Club was not revolutionary, yet it may have changed the course of betting industry history. It called for gambling companies to unite around a campaign that emphasised the individual's right to bet and a commitment to social responsibility.