Bookmakers to trial FOBT changes next month as new £2 limit looms

Bookmakers are set to trial the new £2 stake for FOBTs across a number of betting shops in Birmingham in March as planning continues for the official implementation the following month.

The Association of British Bookmakers said preparations for the revised maximum stake on gaming machines were at an advanced stage and pledged that all betting shops will be compliant when it comes into force on April 1.

The government made the decision last year to cut the maximum stake on FOBTs to £2 from £100 following a sustained attack from campaigners, politicians and the media who blamed the machines for fuelling problem gambling.

However, ministers were forced into an embarrassing climbdown in the autumn after plans to implement the changes this October led to the resignation of minister for sport and civil society Tracey Crouch and cross-party condemnation.

Tracey Crouch: resigned over delays implementing the cut to FOBT stakesCredit: Eamonn M. McCormack

The ABB claims the decision to cut the maximum stake on the machines will result in up to 4,500 betting shop closures and the loss of up to 21,000 jobs.

GVC Holdings, the parent company of Coral and Ladbrokes, and William Hill have said that 1,000 and 900 of their betting shops respectively are in danger of closure as a result of the move.

The ABB said more than 400 games were being reprogrammed to meet the new maximum stake requirement while existing responsible gambling measures, such as the ability to set time and spend limits, would be retained.

Machine suppliers will be trialling content, platform updates and the new maximum stake in a cross-operator trial in a number of betting shops in Birmingham from early March.

Bookmakers will also be rolling out staff training programmes and customer information to help them adapt to the changes.

The ABB said: "This is a hugely complex process that is now at an advanced stage where the trialling of content, platform updates and the new stake will soon begin, thereby ensuring that all betting shops are compliant with the new maximum stake on April 1.

"We are grateful to everyone who is working tirelessly to ensure that betting shops meet these new requirements. Betting shops will remain the best and safest place on the high street to have a flutter."

The imposition of the £2 stake has already had an impact on racing with Arena Racing Company announcing last year it was to reduce its executive contribution to prize-money in 2019, pre-empting expected betting shop closures and the resulting fall in media rights income for the racecourse group.

Read The Briefing from 8.30am daily on racingpost.com with all the day's latest going, weather, market moves and non-runner news