{"id":5594,"date":"2020-06-18T13:23:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T17:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/?p=5594"},"modified":"2020-07-03T13:31:44","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T17:31:44","slug":"low-fobt-stakes-hurt-british-bookmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/low-fobt-stakes-hurt-british-bookmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Low FOBT Stakes Hurt British Bookmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>UK betting shops have relied on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to get by for years. However, they now have to offer low FOBT stakes and are hurting as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FOBTs help shops in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales supplement their income. But they&#8217;re now feeling the sting of not being able to offer high-stakes play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m going to cover the drastic change in bet sizes throughout the UK. I&#8217;ll also discuss how these changes will affect the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/london-slots-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3883\" width=\"256\" height=\"144\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/london-slots-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/london-slots-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/london-slots-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/london-slots.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>What Are the Current Stakes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fixed-odds betting terminals are somewhat like slot machines. However, they differ by offering electronic blackjack, roulette, and other games besides just slots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bookmakers set these terminals in their shops to generate extra revenue. After all, they only make so much from betting juice alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Betting establishments used to be able to offer stakes as high as \u00a3100. Now, however, they&#8217;re only allowed to accept \u00a32 maximum bets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Why Did Politicians Impose Low FOBT Stakes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The push for low FOBT stakes came from British politicians. Some argued that high bet sizes encourage people to gamble above their means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, parliament eventually enacted a plan to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2018\/may\/17\/maximum-stake-for-fixed-odds-betting-terminals-cut-to-2\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\">lower the maximum bets<\/a>. But few envisioned them reducing the stakes so drastically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This decision has had a positive impact on lowering the number of problem gamblers throughout the country. On the downside, it has also hurt the shops&#8217; bottom line and cost jobs within the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Will This Move Kill UK Bookmakers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many argue that the UK betting industry was already saturated. After all, it features thousands of gambling shops sprinkled throughout the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the move to force lower FOBT maximum bets has prematurely put some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2019\/mar\/30\/bookmakers-prepare-for-store-closures-as-fobt-stake-cut\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\">shops out of business<\/a>. The full extent of the damage has yet to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UK government is entirely within their rights to force lower top wagers. However, the end result is that many jobs within the industry will be lost as a result.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK betting shops have relied on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to get by for years. However, they now have to offer low FOBT stakes and are hurting as a result. FOBTs help shops in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales supplement their income. But they&#8217;re now feeling the sting of not being able to offer &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5594"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5596,"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594\/revisions\/5596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slotsmamma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}