Breon Corcoran, the CEO of Paddy Power Betfair has spoken out in support of the concept of dramatically reducing the maximum bets that are accepted by fixed-odds betting terminals in a letter to the UK Sports Minister.The letter, which the Financial Times have obtained, states that Corcoran supports a heavy reduction, with the maximum dropping from £100 to “£10 or less.”
Recent issues
It hasn’t been an easy time to be a part of the gambling world recently, from 888 being fined big for failing to fully exclude players who had opted to self-exclude from their sites, and with several companies recently finding themselves in hot water after an affiliate advert claimed that a man with a sick wife and serious debt issues had turned his life around by betting at online casinos.The industry has been focusing more on the support of vulnerable gamblers and those with addiction issues recently, and the fallout from these recent cases shows that the narrative is certainly becoming harder on those who fail to do this.
Industry review
A review of the gambling industry is due towards the end of October (2017) and it is expected to focus on the UK’s retail gambling sector.The calls for reduced maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) have been occurring for some time, and have been getting substantially louder as of late, it is expected that this industry review will result in these changes taking place.Paddy Power Betfair operate hundreds of betting shops around the UK which have FOBTs, so the CEO of the company speaking out for the reduction of maximum stakes speaks volumes for how attitudes towards the machines are adapting, and why many expect changes to occur sooner rather than later.