Bingo and gambling arcades plea for relaxed laws
Having pleaded for slot machine laws to be relaxed, bingo and amusement arcade operators are being forced to wait until after the parliament’s spring break before any announcement will be made.
The Gambling Act 2005 has hit the gambling industry hard, forcing owners to remove from their premises thousands of highly profitable, £500 jackpot slot machines. From previous rules that allowed four two-pound stake machines per club and an unlimited number of one-pound stake versions, new rules limit the gambling industry to only four slots per site. Such a restriction is causing a great fear that many gambling and amusement sites will soon go out of business.
At a time when the smoking ban is in full swing, the amusement trade’s association BACTA, has also expressed fears that the entire existence of the industry along with 26,000 jobs will be threatened should parliament refuse to relax laws in the near future.
Having originally planned to make a statement early this month, Sport and Gambling Minister Gerry Sutcliff delayed this due to the complexity of the matter. In addition to the 3 week long wait of spring break, there is increasing concern amongst those in the gambling industry that come May, Sutcliff will only review the situation rather than implementing any immediate changes to the law.
Anti-gamblers, addiction help lines and ex-gambling addicts however are waiting in hope that the existing tight laws on slot machines will remain in place. Ex-gambling addict Paul Isherwood has described slot machines as “the most addictive form of gambling†whilst GamCare helpline reports show that approximately 20 percent of their yearly 30,000 calls are related to slot machines. Should parliament listen to such views and figures, bingo and amusement arcades may be in for a rough ride for the future.
Amongst this uncertainty, Blackpool council is continuing its plans to convert the existing gambling sites into a US-style gambling resort. Within such developments, Blackpool renovation mastermind, Alan Cavill, plans to section off underage slot machines in order to better control underage gambling opportunities. However, in light of the existing 5,000 slot machines in Blackpool, anti-gambling campaigner Lib Dem Counselor Steven Bate has voiced the views of many concerned campaigners, stating that more slot machines will simply result in more gamblers.
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