Dear Members,
I am sure all members will want to congratulate Gabi Stergides and James Miller on their election last week to the positions of President and Vice-President respectively. A full report on both will appear in Coinslot next week which as you know is sent free to bacta members as one of the benefits of membership. I and the bacta team look forward to working with both of them and the new Divisional Chairs over the course of the next two years. I list all the new officers below:
Division 1
Chairman – James Miller (Summertime Leisure Ltd)
Vice Chairman – Trevor Sutton (Namco UK Ltd)
Division 2
Chairman – Greg Wood (Essex Leisure Ltd)
Vice Chairman – Peter Davies (Playnation Ltd)
Division 3
Chairman – Elizabeth Speed (Luxury Leisure)
Vice Chairman – Neil Finch (Southern City Leisure Ltd)
Division 4
Chairman – Dean Harding (Crown Leisure Ltd)
Vice Chairman – Quentin Stott (Reflex Gaming Ltd)
I should also take this opportunity to thank all the outgoing officers for their support over the previous two years. It has been a tough time for the industry and as a new Chief Executive they were a tremendous help in getting me to understand and address the issues we face. No more so than Jason Frost, who as President did a fantastic job husbanding members’ interests both within bacta and in his representational work with all our key stakeholders. We will be focusing more on Jason in a future edition of Coinslot.
It has been quite a week. One of Gabi’s first jobs was to host a Parliamentary lunch with North West MPs on Wednesday. That went very well, but was overshadowed by the events that unfolded as we later left the building. The bacta team, including Dave Orton and Barry Knowles, unfortunately witnessed first-hand the tragic events that took place. It was shocking and disturbing and we would all like to pass on our condolences to those that lost their lives. Personally, I have to say that the way the police and House of Commons staff handled themselves was exemplary and they deserve all the credit and support they have received from the public. It is not hyperbole to say that PC Keith Palmer lost his life defending ours and all the other people around us.
Life, however, must rightly go on and it does so at bacta.
Of imminent concern is the introduction of the new £1 coin on Tuesday of next week. Most members will be ready and have plans in place to switch machines from old to new. Worryingly some members have been in touch recently to say that having calibrated their machines using samples issued in 2015 or 2016, more recent samples of the new £1 coin are being rejected. The Mint assures us that the sample coins are all from one production run and that their spec is identical to that of the new coin being issued. However, members’ problems are very real and potentially very expensive. We are still trying to get to the bottom of this with the Mint and we are hopeful these remain isolated incidents and that when the new coin is in mass circulation the acceptance rates will be as they should be. However, this is of concern and we will be writing to the Mint to ask for a delay in the withdrawal of the existing £1 coin to ensure we don’t starve machines of coins that we know work. Members may like to hang on to existing £1 coins to ensure they have a stock of coins available in the event of problems. Could I ask all members to supply us urgently with details of any problems you have had including the mechs used, the testing methodology and resulting stats on acceptance rates. Furthermore, please could members let us know of any issues you encounter as the new coin enters circulation.
The atmosphere around the imminent announcement of the consultation document on the Review in to Stakes and Prizes and FOBTs (in the Spring according to DCMS Minister, Tracy Crouch), is becoming increasingly febrile. We continue to make the positive case for change, but the bookmakers are still seeking to divert attention away from the maximum stake on FOBTs by attacking AGCs, FECs, pubs, casinos and bingo as well as misrepresenting and spinning recently produced data. In a new twist the ABB laughingly said that B3s take more money than B2s. I am surprised therefore that all their machines are not B3s and not B2s! Bacta has been compelled to publicly respond to set the record straight and I am pleased to say journalists are listening. Members may well have seen the Times today (Friday) which sets out in an opinion piece from bacta, just why the bookies are so wrong to defend the status quo.
The diary has remained busy over recent weeks with, amongst others, meetings on Self-exclusion with the Gambling Commission, the IGRG Training work, and machine features, alongside meetings of National Council and the Regions. In the coming weeks we have meetings with the Gambling Commission on the Annual Assurance Statement, a meeting of the IGRG, another hearing of the APPG on FOBTs, the Yorks & Lincs Region meeting on Thursday and a meeting with Kate Lampard, Chair of GambleAware the following week.
We then arrive at Easter. I hope the weather is good and all members have a very good start to the season.
John