Journalist Wins Award for Exposing UK Punters’ £1Billion Spending on FOBTs

Ben Leo, the Brighton Argus investigative reporter who wrote an Argus exclusive about the £1 billion a year gambling money spent on fixed odd betting terminals (FOBTs), won recognition from the Regional Press Awards as 2013’s “Young Journalist of the Year”. Ben Leo’s exclusive report was carried by almost every national news publication and later became the subject of debates in the British Parliament.

The reactions and repercussions over Ben Leo’s billion-pound FOBT gambling expose was so great that it led to the formulation of new legislations to curb retail betting shop operations, as well as the imposition of higher gaming machine tax duty. Local councils began rejecting applications for the opening of additional retail betting outlets. The new conditions had prompted bookmaker William Hill to close over a hundred betting shops in the near future, which of course will eventually lead to some job losses. Yet, this is just to mention a few of the events spurred by Ben Leo’s exposition of the FOBT gambling schemes.

The young Brighton Argus reporter wrote that the betting shops flooding UK’s high streets have been collectively raking in more than £40 billion annually from operating the FOBTs. He further described that the FOBTs have computerised gambling games, of which the most played are the roulette games and that the equipment accepts single bets of up to £100 that can be wagered in unlimited and rapid succession. By Ben Leo’s account, the machine swallows up as much as £18,000 an hour; but this estimate was for the FOBTs in Sussex betting shops alone.

Ben cited the figures reported by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, which showed that a total of 171 FOBTs have been in operation in 47 licensed betting shops since 2011, for which the figures spent as bets on the machines were initially placed at £250 million per year.  UK’s leading bookmakers account that about half of their gambling revenue in 2011 was derived from retail betting operations. William Hill estimates 48.6 percent, while Ladbrokes admitted having earned 50.2 percent from the FOBTs.

As a result of Ben Leo’s award-winning expose, an all out war between groups of responsible gambling campaigners and the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) followed, as campaigners were calling for the reduction of betting limits down to £2 per bet.

Apparently, the campaigners scored a victory since the growing furor over the FOBTs, led to the creation of the new laws. The ABB conceded by formulating the “2013 Code for Responsible Gambling and Player Protection”, which addresses in particular the FOBT operations and activities at retail betting outlets.

However, the £2 betting limit called for was accordingly not feasible, based on reviews and consultation being conducted by the UK gambling commission. Instead, the proposed betting limit that is up for consideration is at £50 per bet but supported by FOBT warning messages of a punter’s excessive gambling behavior.

Paul Linford, publisher of “HoldtheFrontPage”, which sponsors the Regional Press Awards and who also chaired the panel for the “Young Journalist of the Year” said “all the judges agreed that Ben was the outstanding candidate in the category.”