Betting machines are built to be captivating, Carolyn Harris says
Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on fixed odds betting terminals, has said a Gambling Commission proposal to cut the maximum stake from £100 to £30 does not go far enough to tackle the "social consequences" of addictive gambling.
She told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme the machines were "built to be captivating - just like heroin is captivating", and called on the UK government to set a maximum stake of £2.
The Association of British Bookmakers has claimed that cutting the maximum stake to £30 would see 2,100 betting shops close and 10,000 jobs lost.
It said bookmakers "remain committed to introducing further measures to address problem gambling and will continue to work with all interested parties".
19 Mar 2018