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Six months on: how the FOBT stake cut has changed the bookmaking landscape
Bill Barber examines the effects - good and bad - of the historic decision
The maximum stake on FOBTs was reduced to £2 on April 1
April 1 2019 will go down as the day life changed forever for high street bookmakers across Britain.
It was the day the swingeing cut in maximum stakes on the hugely controversial gaming machines called FOBTs (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) was implemented.
Following years of pressure from campaigners, politicians and the media – who blamed the machines for fuelling problem gambling and causing crime – the government finally agreed to reduce the stakes on the machines to £2 from £100.
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more inFeatures
- Captain Marvel: how a modern master of Cheltenham and a genuine pioneer executed one of the shocks of the year
- 'We’re delighted with how it's going' - joint-trainers prepare for exciting year after Flat string is doubled
- 'We’ve had to work hard this sales season' - Kennet Valley seeking to build on success with biggest string
- Alastair Down's archives: the great writer recalls Coneygree's glorious victory in the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup
- Kauto Star: the extraordinary talent who became the benchmark for sheer undiluted quality