UK bookies push back against Labour’s anti-FOBT manifesto

The UK bookmakers industry association is aggressively pushing back against the Labour Party election manifesto’s position on reducing fixed-odds betting terminal (FOBT) betting stakes.

A draft of Labour’s 2017 general election manifesto was leaked late Wednesday, revealing the party’s shift further to the political left. In addition to calls for re-nationalization of some privatized interests, including British Rail and the Royal Mail, the manifesto also calls for a reduction in maximum FOBT stakes from their current £100 to just £2.

The manifesto says a Labour government would also “legislate to increase the delay in between spins on these games in order to reduce the addictive nature of the games.” The machines currently allow players to make a fresh wager three times a minute.

Labour’s anti-FOBT stance isn’t new, as former party leader Ed Miliband railed against the machines ahead of the 2014 general election. The ruling Tories have suggested some types of restrictions are in the works, but as the government, they are more conscious of how much tax revenue the machines generate, and the party had to be more or less publicly shamed into taking action.