Lib Dems Call for Further Powers to Tackle Problem Gambling

Liberal Democrats at Bedford Borough Council are calling on the Government to give local Councils more powers to deal with addictive and dangerous betting machines in our town centre.

Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (or FOBTs), which can be placed in a local betting shop, allow people to place bets of £100 which can be lost in as little as 20 seconds. This stake is far more than any other machine that can be in a betting shop, and these fast-paced machines have been cited as a significant factor in problem gambling.

Bedford Borough Council's Statement of Gambling Licensing Principles is due for review, and Lib Dem Councillors have successfully won agreement through the Licensing Committee for a statement about safeguards against these machines to be included for consultation.

Lib Dem Cllr Sarah Holland, Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee said "The Campaign for Fairer Gambling estimates that people have lost over £4million at these inherently unfair machines in Bedford Borough alone, and these machines account for approximately 50% of all profits made by land-based bookmakers. This is outrageous, but local Councils currently do not have the power to tackle these addictive machines.

That is why we have asked for views on a statement about safeguards against these machines being placed in the Councils Statement of Gambling Licensing Principles, as well as this call on the Government to devolve more powers to local Councils to tackle them."