Fixed-odd betting terminals could see £2 limit to curb addiction

Liberal Democrat Lord Clement-Jones told the House of Lords that the gaming machines were “destroying lives and damaging communities”.

He said cutting the maximum stake from £100 to £2 would help reduce “serious harm,” deter money laundering and cut betting shop “clustering” on the high street.

Opening debate on his Gambling (Categorisation and Use of B2 Gaming Machines) Bill, Lord Clement-Jones said the touch-screen roulette machines allowed users to bet up to £100 every 20-second spin.

He cited the case of a gambler in Leeds who was sentenced for attacking a betting shop worker with a knife after losing £1,000 on the machines and said he was “utterly possessed” by them.

He said: “It is clear the experiment to allow high street roulette in easily accessible betting shops has been a disaster.”

Cutting the maximum stake under the legislation would help reduce “the human misery caused” by gambling addiction.

“The reality is that these machines are highly dangerous products, which are a catalyst for problem gambling, social breakdown and serious crime in communities.”

Backing the Bill, Tory former lord chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern said it was a simple remedy to a “damaging social problem” particularly in less affluent communities.

Labour’s Lord Lipsey, vice-chair of the all-party Parliamentary group on betting and gaming, accused the bookmaking industry of trying to “defend the indefensible” over the machines.

He said the Government had acted with the energy of a “hibernating sloth” over the issue but warned that lower stake limits would hit bookmaker’s profits.