CONTROVERSIAL bookmaker betting machines have cost Inverclyde punters a staggering £20 million in the last decade.

A new study by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling group has revealed the crippling effect so-called fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) are having on people locally.

Since 2008, just over £20m has been lost on FOBTs, also known as roulette machines, in Inverclyde alone.

Campaigners say more than £8m of that is from the pockets of problem gamblers.

Researchers estimate that an eye-watering £11.5 billion has been frittered away on the machines across the UK in the last 10 years.

Stunned Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan, who is vice-chair of the Westminster All-Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTs, continues to campaign on the issue of gambling reform and says the shocking statistics drive home the urgent need for the UK Government to take action.

Mr Cowan said: “These local figures for money lost on FOBTs are horrendous and should be a wake-up call to people who still oppose the £2 maximum stake.

“Money that could be spent in local communities is being lost.

“I’m hopeful that, pending the outcome of the public consultation, the UK Government will act swiftly to enforce a £2 limit on FOBTs.”

Currently punters can bet up to £100 per spin but recent reports suggest ministers will bow to pressure and impose a £2 maximum.

http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/14018488._pound_82m_blown_on_betting_in_Inverclyde/

Dubbed the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’, it is estimated there are nearly 70 FOBTs throughout 19 bookies in Inverclyde.

In Inverclyde in the last year alone just under £3m was lost on them.

A recent study using data by researchers at Landman Economics blamed FOBTs for the loss of 326 jobs locally since 2008.

Mr Cowan says lowering the betting limit to £2 per spin should be the start of a major shake-up of the UK gambling industry.

He said: “Rather than bookmakers warning of the effect they believe it would have on their profit line they should be considering the damage they are doing to the communities, such as Inverclyde, they operate in.

“Bookmakers should be paying a statutory levy to support gambling-related harm, as this is an area that is underfunded and increasingly required.

“But it must not end there.

“Invasive advertising, including the television adverts in the early hours of the morning and the increasing normalisation of gambling adverts targeting young adults and children, must be thoroughly scrutinised.”