Gambling Commission publishes advice to Government.

“The Gambling Commission has today released its advice to the Government to assist the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in its review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures.

Key recommendations from the Commission’s report include:

• The FOBT (B2) slots stakes should be limited to £2
• The stake limit for FOBT (B2) non-slot games (which includes roulette) should be set at or below £30 if it is to have a significant effect in the potential for players to lose large amounts of money in a short space of time.
• Banning the facility for machines to allow different categories of games to be played in a single session.
• There is a strong case to make tracked play mandatory across machines categories (B1,B2,B3)
• Extending to category B1 and B3 machines the kinds of protections, such as player limits, that are in place on FOBT (B2 machines)
• Working with the industry and others on steps to make limit-setting more effective – this could include ending sessions when consumers reach time and money limits.

It is now for the Government to consider the advice from the Commission and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations given, so watch this space, more detail to follow.”

For further information on this or any other gambling legal issue contact Nick Arron, Partner and Head of the Betting and Gaming Team on 0115 953 8500 or email n.arron@popall.co.uk.