Crime Solicitors

The London Borough of Newham (LBN) has welcomed the government’s review of high-stake gambling machines, known as Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs).

The council has submitted submitting evidence on the social harm to communities resulting from FOBTs to ensure the government takes robust action to reduce FOBT stakes to £2. The council is committed to tackling gambling and related anti-social behaviour in Newham.

Newham Council says that, in the borough, there are now 84 betting shops – more than six for every square mile. There has been a 47% increase in the number of betting shops in the borough since 2007, when the Gambling Act came into force.

The council says that the “massive increase in outlets” is driven by the gambling industry’s profits from FOBTS, which allow £100 to be bet every 20 seconds.

Bookmakers are allowed four high stake machines per shop, so that multiple shops mean more profits – often referred to as the “crack cocaine of gambling”. The machines now account for 56% of bookmakers’ profits.

The council said it had been calling for action, as 99% of residents who responded to a local consultation conducted by Ipsos Mori on behalf of Newham thought there were too many betting shops in the borough – and 84% of residents agreed that the amount that could be bet on FOBTs should be reduced.

In November 2014, Newham Council says it submitted the most widely supported Sustainable Communities Act (SCA) proposal ever, backed by 92 other councils calling for FOBT stake reduction to £2.

The council says its campaign focused on community harm, rather than the individual harm caused by high stake gambling.

“This is because as a local authority, we believe it is our duty to ensure that responsible gambling takes place on our high streets and that deprived communities are not exploited.

”The drastic increase in the number of betting outlets correlates to increasingly high rates of crime and anti-social behaviour – areas of Newham with a high concentration of betting shops persistently remain within areas with the highest levels of crime in the borough,” said the council in a statement.

In 2013-2014, Newham’s police officers were called to an incident of crime or ASB linked to a betting shop every day – the figure for 2015-2016 has now increased to an average of 1.2 calls per day.

Police data illustrate there have 39 arrests over the course of the year (2015-2016), with an arrest happening on average every nine days.

The council added:

”Our numerous attempts to use the powers available to us have been fruitless – the only way to stop the community harm caused by bookies opening more and more shops is to drastically reduce the potential profits to be had from ‘hard gambling’ in an unregulated environment. That means reducing FOBT stakes to £2 in line with other machines available on our high streets.

”We have submitted our evidence and we hope and trust that our residents will finally be heard by the government.”


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