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McIntosh Warns Bingo And Arcade Industry
In the UK this month, Minister for Gambling Andrew McIntosh - pictured - has warned sectors of the gambling industry over the rising number of new gambling machines offering potentially addictive high-speed roulette games. The machines are appearing in bingo clubs and arcades around the country and are lower stake versions of the ‘fixed odds betting terminals' that have appeared in bookmakers since 2002. Under current law, it is legally possible for children to play them in arcades and they operate without any controls over speed of play.
Lord McIntosh said this is a perfect example of why the gambling laws need modernising. "These machines raise concerns about speed of play and access by children. The Gambling Bill will enable us to impose the necessary controls on them, but the current rules mean we are unable to act and are instead reliant on the responsibility of individual operators."
The UK industry is currently working with the Gaming Board on a Code of Practice for these machines, and Lord McIntosh said he welcomes this and places great importance on the responsible attitude that operators are taking, but that in the meantime he is very concerned about the impact these machines might have, "In particular I'm worried that unscrupulous operators might use the loophole to allow children to play these games."
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