FOBTs will come down from £100 to £2

The stock market value of the UK’s biggest bookmakers Ladbrokes has slumped by more than £800m following reports that the government is ready to slash the maximum stake on lucrative but controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £2.


Bookies derived more than half of their revenues from FOBTs last year, pulling in a combined £1.8bn from machines that allow gamblers to stake £100 every 20 seconds on digital casino games such as roulette.

While a 12-week consultation that began last year does not close until Tuesday, Matt Hancock, who became secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) in a recent cabinet reshuffle, is reported to favour a maximum £2 stake.

Campaigners against FOBTs claim that they are particularly addictive, clustered in deprived areas, and allow gamblers to rack up huge losses.

But in a statement to the stock market, Ladbrokes said a cut to £2 would “fail to adequately address any issue of problem gambling” and have “serious consequences” for the survival of high-street bookmakers and the horse-racing industry, which is part-funded by a levy on bookies’ profits.

The bookmaker is in the midst of a takeover by the online gaming specialist GVC, with the value of the deal determined by a sliding scale linked to the DCMS review.

If DCMS opts for a maximum stake of £50, GVC would pay £3.9bn in a cash-plus-shares deal, with the price falling to £3.1bn in the event of a £2 maximum stake.

A 10% fall in Ladbrokes’ share price on Monday morning took its stock market value down £359m to just above £3.1bn, indicating investors now expect a cut to £2. GVC’s stock also declined, falling 4%.

William Hill fell 13% before midday on Monday, cutting its stock market value by £364m.

Shares in PaddyPower Betfair, which has FOBTs in its high street shops but has a huge online presence and has offered support for a £2 stake, fell by less than 1%.

The DCMS consultation does not close until noon on Tuesday and a department spokesperson insisted no decision on stakes had yet been taken.

The crack cocaine of gambling, good news

Great stuff.
It MIGHT help in bringing betting shops being closer to what they once were.

Less big bookies and more independents would be nice too.

I work part time for Coral/Ladbrokes( whatever their called these days) and it delights me when i see the panic on the "bosses" faces when they realise this eventuality is close to becoming a reality.It will probably mean i will lose my job but its a small price to pay to see these abominations cleared from our high streets.

Lets hope with the maximum bet per FOBT spin coming down that maximum bet allowed for skill based gambling goes up.

you shouldn't lose your job twizzle.
people will just start gambling over the counter again!
Lets hope they give it 6 months for that to happen.

Will they try and get 24 hour opening to make up the shortfall?

If anything they'll open less now to cut on wages.

They already pay far less than they used to. Now shops will be open 9.30 or 10 til 6 or 6.30.

ok.

but what restrictions will there be on online games of chance.

it's not just about FOBTs. It's about all games of chance, everywhere, which are little more than stealing from the mathematically challenged.

Im just waiting for the max spins online to come down. Just watched someone blow 1k on youtube at £10 a spin, took him 12 minutes apperently, its absolutely mentle tbh. That was at casumo though. My theory is all these bookmakers will move off shore and set up online imo, just look at the madness on youtube in regards to the these online slot casinos. And theres nothing our government can do about these online sites?

I just cant see ladbrokes coral etc going back to traditional gambling, ie taking £100 horse racing bets, when theyve been making millions if not close to billions from degenerate slot players. Its a mighty come down from that to maybe making 25% of that from sports betting. They will go offshore and set up as full time online casinos, with the sports side being a small part of the site.

LOL twizzle doesn't mind taking a wage to service in his words these abominations,he,ll be selling real crack cocaine on the streets for his next job

wayne rooney lost half a million in 2 hrs in a casino ,no one batted an eyelid, casino,s are kept alive by footballers,city types  encouraged to punt with free drinks,food etc never heard the government trying to close casino,s down,ray winstone and co spend 7 days a week encouraging under 18,s watching sport on tv to gamble,goverenment not to bothered

and as for foxy and her online bingo

maybe some oddly timed race meeting will revert to proper times as bookies
wont be open at silly times trying to suck folk into these fobt dens.

industry can get back to bookmaking and away from milking addicts

Absolutely correct STUDYFORM, the opening hours will be slashed if this goes ahead. I can see shops open from say 9.00 a.m. til 19.00 p.m.

bookies were never open at 9.00am, even saturdays it was 10 and you had 15 mins to get price before
compilers got in to work...

interesting to see if they retain 9am opening, ...catch them on way to office ?

I suppose once this is sorted the government can concentrate on legalising class A drugs, if they cant produce evidence of people breaking the law to fund feeding these machines ,its got nothing to do with government,the logical outcome is if these sed people move to use the same money gambling on racing,football,lottery,scratch cards, all gambling will have to be made illegal,after all according to those on here and government these people are addicts so will just gamble elsewhere,its like saying you can cure alcoholism by closing pubs,when in fact you,d have to make it illegal to drink

P.P. in Gerard Street, Soho, 07.30 a.m. - 22.00 p.m. That will change most definitely if it's 2 quid a spin.

You anti gambling nazis have no consideration for the damage this move will cause -not good for my share portfolio.  Thank goodness for the arms industry.

I have no sympathy for anyone who is stupid enough to go into a 'bookies'  - they are the spawn of the devil.

casino,s,pubs,brothels,where do we stop,people want takeaways banned

Result - now they might start taking proper bets. Bring back the board marker but instead of an old fella, how about a bird like the ones who do the walk on in the darts.

@1st time poster

As I said on another regarding this, it has nothing to do with anyone else what we want to do with our own money, we've worked for our money, that money has gone into our bank accounts so its ours to do what we want with it. Its getting absolutely ridiculous tbh, theyre banning or reducing just about everything. And as i said, online slots are even worse for max stakes, yet the media and government dont seem to care about that, which just makes it seem fishy.

the equation on here seems to be the bookmakers make up money lost on fobt,s by encouraging people through better prices,taking bigger bets etc,so the same amount of money which today is problem gambling money tomorrow becomes legitimate gambling money,because some people think they cleverer than people who use fobt,s, probably the same people who,ve said for a 100 years you never see a poor bookie

When the FOBTs licence payments were raised the multis closed about 150 shops.
This will hurt them even more and they'll have to look for savings to compensate as well as closing more shops.
The extended opening hours, purely to accommodate FOBT play, will be first to be looked at.

Terrible things these dreadful machines , some people lose control when gambling , some have lost their homes , business,  family and their sanity because of gambling and these awful machines are there tempting people every day