Ahead of today’s parliamentary debate on fixed odds betting terminals, Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
The rapid spread of fixed odds terminals has created serious gambling problems, especially in communities already struggling with poverty. It’s particularly worrying that some betting shops are putting pressure on staff to encourage their increased use.I’ve consistently opposed fixed odds betting terminals, and last year wrote to the Government calling for a review of the Gambling Act.In my constituency, there are an estimated 70 machines, and in Brighton and Hove £270 million was gambled on them last year.Local councils need greater powers to prevent the proliferation , and maximum stakes should be drastically reduced. The Government’s hesitation in taking serious action suggests that it cares more about the interests of the corporate gambling industry than the people being targeted and dragged into a spiral of addiction and even greater deprivation.