Talking Horses: the campaign to cut FOBT stakes to £2 is far from lost


A £2 limit on all FOBT games is coming, it is just a matter of when, despite Monday’s Gambling Commission report

The Gambling Commission finally released its long-awaited review of “gaming machines and social responsibility measures” on Monday morning, and already it is being reported as confirmation that the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in bookmakers will be cut to £30, rather than the £2 that had been widely floated in recent weeks.

“Relief for bookmakers as ministers set to reject drastic FOBT reform” was the headline on an online report in the Racing Post, which is very much signed up to the bookmakers’ argument that a £2 minimum would lead to widespread betting shop closures and a sharp drop in racing’s income. The full picture, however, is not so clearcut.

Related: Irish excellence at Cheltenham a cause for celebration not protection | Greg Wood

Lingfield Park 
2.20 Caledonia Laird 2.50 Fairway To Heaven 3.25 Cliffs Of Dover (nap)  3.55 Caspar The Cub 4.25 Pour La Victoire 4.55 Solid Man 5.25 Ormskirk (nb) 

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