English, Welsh Slots Gamblers To Set Own Time And Money Limits

As part of its ongoing efforts to promote responsible gambling, the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) has introduced a new code of conduct which allows gamblers to set limits on the amount of time and money they spend on high-stakes gaming machines located inside betting shops.
In England and Wales there are currently more than 33,000 such betting terminal machines which allow customer to spend up to £300 every minute. The new technology, however, will allow players to not only set spending limits, but also to signal alerts whenever they have spent £250 or played for 30 minutes.
Interestingly, the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) has found that although less than 1% of total gamblers fall into the problem gambler category, those that do actually account for as much as 50% of the industry’s betting revenue. Consequently, betting shops have also announced that their staff would now receive training on how to spot and offer support to problem gamblers.
Commenting on the move, ABB chief executive, Dirk Vennix, said the the new measures should help protect customers, while in no way interfering with the enjoyment of up to eight million people who regularly gamble on fixed-odds betting terminal (FOBT) without any problems. In addition, the ABB has asked the Responsible Gambling Trust to commission an independent review of its new code of practice, with RGT chief executive Marc Etches, explaining:
“The evaluation will assess the code’s short-term and long-term impacts on consumer behaviour and will form an important part of the RGT’s recently announced program of research into gaming machines located in licensed betting offices.”
Meanwhile, the British Government has welcomed the new industry code of conduct, whilst acknowledging still more has to be done in order to protect vulnerable gamblers. As culture minister Helen Grant, stated: “Problem gambling is a serious issue and we are determined to help tackle it. We want there to be a competitive gambling sector but not at the expense of public protection, and our ongoing review is focused on that.”