MANY of us enjoy the occasional flutter, be it on the Grand National or a cup final. It can add excitement to the event, if rarely reward. However, for a small but increasing number of gamblers betting has becomes an addiction and Fixed Odds Betting Terminals - the high-tech gaming machines in bookmakers - feed that addiction. Problem gamblers can lose up to £300 in a minute, causing incalculable damage to family life.
These machines were introduced into the UK in 1999 and under Tony Blair’s light-touch administration there was initially no limit to the stakes or to the number of machines that could be installed. When the government later threatened to clamp down, the betting industry started legal action. The outcome was the shoddy compromise which exists until today.
There is a £2 limit on gambling machines in all other venues other than bookmakers and there is no justifiable reason why these shops should receive this preferential treatment. This needs to end soon.
However, gambling limits alone will not stop an addict betting when the internet, which is awash with online roulette and poker, is just a click away. The UK Government should make the betting industry enforce restrictions on online spending, together with an increased tax levy on these vastly profitable companies.
The Scottish Government and local authorities also need to work together to revitalise our high streets, particularly in poorer areas, where bookies proliferate, and impose strict limits on the numbers of such shops in our towns.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here