Discussing FOBTs on LBC (again)

Listening

You hear these stories about grown men crying and betting shop staff being abused.

Why do people play them? You can't win in the long run.

Why don't they bet on sport where at least they can exercise some skill and judgement?

It gives them a buzz for 10 secs where they can forget all their problems which they can repeat until their money's gone.

Can't they get that buzz from betting on racing or sport?

Someone from the industry rang in. He said that the idea that they may be "due" to pay out after someone has lost a lot of money is a misconception as they are linked to a nationwide network. I didn't know that.

That's the old lay over from the fruitees where you'd see a queue of men forming in a boozer if someone's been putting pounds into a machine and nothing's come out.

Sad thing in a bookies now is the absolute fear of a quiet five minutes. Years back there'd be races every 10 minutes with a dog race or two in between. Punters would spend time analysing the form and taking time to make their selections. Now, there'll be 3 virtual races going on, an ssbt or two with some live women's under 19 Israeli volleyball going on while the machines are twinkling in the background. Now there's a clear compulsion to spend your money as quickly as possible over these products rather than just spend some time there.

Hills in particular run regular FOBT competitions where they give
you £50 credit to play the game they are pushing, its alarming just how
quick that £50 can disappear ,it should put people off but it doesnt.

Entrapment

I would totally ban all machines in betting shops - full stop. If you want to play them go to the casino. They are evil. The government should show some balls and force the bookmakers into becoming bookmakers again. Other countries do it - why not ours.

Easily accessed on the net so you'd only be shifting the problem

As regards FOBTs ch a fair %age of shops would close without them.
I think limiting the amount per spin would be better than banning them.

It's brain chemistry - serotonin uptake etc ...  Truly it is in the category of crack cocaine.  As all well-educated bookies/main-board-level bookie-hirelings know .. but we've all got to make a living.  Eh?

You can play for free on the euromillions casino slots - keep doing it and you will eventually work out your chances of success.

That would probably happen but then a lot only opened because they can stuff their shops with the machines. I'm a big believer in personal responsibility but equally if the machines enable bookmakers to cease acting like bookmakers by refusing bets left, right and centre then I'd revoke their licence to trade.

Eeternaloptimist  • January 27, 2016 12:10 AM GMT 
That would probably happen but then a lot only opened because they can stuff their shops with the machines. I'm a big believer in personal responsibility but equally if the machines enable bookmakers to cease acting like bookmakers by refusing bets left, right and centre then I'd revoke their licence to trade

Most of those shops you mention have since been closed as a result of the increase in machines taxation.

Fair point Aka but there are far too many shops anyway - who'd have thought we would have ended up with this crap situation. Betting shops used to be ok - now they are spooky places - people not wanting you to watch over their shoulder as they lose a fortune - people kicking the machines when they lose - they seem to to know they've lost before the ball lands.

Jan 27, 2016 -- 12:07AM, bodil wrote:

It's brain chemistry - serotonin uptake etc ...  Truly it is in the category of crack cocaine.  As all well-educated bookies/main-board-level bookie-hirelings know .. but we've all got to make a living.  Eh?You can play for free on the euromillions casino slots - keep doing it and you will eventually work out your chances of success.

And this is the reason why FOBTs are so successful/problematic (delete as applicable to which side you're on)

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/lights-and-sounds-hook-rats-gambling

the main reason bookies are what they are today is they don"t have to lays bets with a risk of paying out just sit back and let the mugs pour money in the machines no risk

FOBT -  dunno why i keep calling them FBOTS - cos of the Bots on here i reckon 

pretty easy to do a oner in 5 mins

Not a good thing in any form

crystal -  pretty much so if you adress the real problem of Fobts

why do some posters have green dots and some grey before their name ?

on-line now perhaps ?

yeah ,logged in  i'll guess  - 1.03 on the betting ,took me a few minutes to click

Coach  - I think addiction to these machines could easily lead normally law abiding people to commit crime especially theft from employer of theft from their own family.

There are lots of links regarding this issue

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/casino-style-gambling-machines-have-led-to-a-rise-in-crime-say-campaigners-10285659.html

yeah crytsal -that's because they skint folk so they need to commit crimes to pay for their addiction .


if they gave back 97% there wouldn't be a problem .

the addiction bit is folk trying to win their money back 

lifelong older hooked gamblers  are trying to win back the 10p they put in a machine they lost in 1975.

Youngsters will follow the same path .

The machines in themselves are fine

gambling in itself is fine .but how do you stop someone from  taking things too far ?

I completed a 2 days induction course in 1 day at Billies. Fobts got a good mention as did pushing the product with regular promotions and bringing new ideas. They generate 52% of the business profits from online and in shops, and not one filthy arber in sight.

come on canny u tart step up

The lbo I use is probably the exception as the machines lie dormant for long periods of time.

Bookies employee loses the plot. On way to deposit £3k in bank and makes a diversion to the casino.
Places the lot on red...you know the rest.

Then there's the ambiguous gangs. Rife across the UK...some people have no fkin shame.

ttt

I genuinely can't see, for the life of me, what could possibly induce a normal, sensible person to put thousands, or even hundreds of pounds into these machines. I love betting myself, but I cannot undstand the attraction of these machines. It seems to me pretty common knowledge that you cannot win on these things. Everybody knows that they are a quick and unsatisfying way of frittering away large amounts of money. So, is it really such a widespread phenomenon? I genuinely find it hard to believe that so many people put the sums of money they are talking about into these machines. There was a guy on Radio earlier claiming that he had lost over £300 Grand on these, but during the interview he also intimated that he was a serial convicted fraudster, and used to go all over the country trying to scam bookies. He was also trying to plug a book he had written on the subject. Something doesn't add up. If this was the best example 5 Live could find of a so-called "victim", then either they are not doing research properly, or the problem is not nearly as bad as they are making out.

prob wrote the book in pencil

£1.8 billion profit last year on fobts, thats 30 quid a person (at least) so at 3% profit per spin to books
thats like every person in the country sticking a grand each in and walking away with £970
or 20 spins each at £50 ....