Clive Efford MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Sport, responding to the Responsible Gambling Trust Research into FOBTs (fixed odds betting terminals), said:

“The findings of this study leave many questions unanswered and more research is required if we are to understand the patterns of behaviour of people who have gambling problems.  It shows that Labour was right to call for more interactions between staff and people playing these machines and for warnings to interrupt play when people have been playing for long periods.”

“It is disappointing that this research cannot tell us how levels of stakes and prizes impact on problem gamblers.  This was promised by the Prime Minister and it is hugely embarrassing for him that it does not provide the information.”

“The most alarming aspect of this research is that it confirms that people from more deprived areas are more likely to have a gambling problem and that they contribute a disproportionate amount of the profits that bookmakers make from these machines.  This underlines the need for Labour’s plans for local authorities to be given more powers to intervene where there are local concerns about the clustering of these machines, particularly where these are close to areas of deprivation.”