White’s Week 25.5.18

Dear bacta member

Well we did it! Last Thursday’s announcement that the maximum permitted stake on a Category B2 gaming machine will be reduced from £100 to £2 is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people, not least those bacta members who wrote to their MPs, lobbied them directly and who ensured their views were communicated to the local press. My thanks to you all. We have achieved what is arguably the biggest public policy win in bacta’s history.

Bacta’s President, Gabi Stergides, has asked me to include the following paragraph:

“I would like to add my personal, heartfelt thanks to Jason Frost who, as the past President of bacta, has Chaired the B2 working group for a number of years and has worked tirelessly to achieve this welcome reduction in stake. My thanks too to John White for his commitment to the cause since he joined bacta, and particularly for his performance on Sky TV on the day of the announcement. I recommend members view this Sky clip (circulated earlier this week) as this is an excellent template for members to follow if every speaking to MPs etc”.

There will be plenty of time to digest what has been a text book campaign by a coalition of voices that all quite rightly saw no place for FOBTs on our High Streets. Bacta has been central to its success. It shows how impactful a trade association with committed members can be. However, we are not quite there yet. Whilst the Government has now made its decision, that still has to become law before it has effect. We will have to continue to explain to Government that there is no reason to delay the implementation of a decision that was based on protecting vulnerable people. Any undue delay is unnecessarily harming those very people the decision is designed to protect. We would therefore urge the Government to do everything to expedite the approval of the necessary Regulations by Parliament.

Rereading the Government’s response to the consultation on stakes and prizes and social responsibility measures, I think there is much to give us encouragement. I have already highlighted how the Government’s original consultation document reflected much of the bacta position on not only FOBTs but also other products for which we sought stake and prize increases. The only disappointment was that the toxicity and predominance of the FOBT debate meant that our arguments could not be fully explored or politically accepted with and by Government. The document published last Thursday invites us to reopen those discussions outside of the Review process. In particular that gives us an opportunity to develop new game concepts as well as revisit stakes and prizes on non-complex and non-monetary prize payout Category D machines. The Minister was explicit in stating her understanding of the pressures facing the FEC sector. That is very welcome.

On other issues too I think bacta can take some encouragement. We were the only trade body to express doubts about the introduction of a Statutory Levy. We weren’t, nor are we, opposed to it in principle. We felt that the weaknesses in the current voluntary system for donating to Research, Education and Treatment (principally through GambleAware) could be solved with some effort, obviating the need for a formal system that would bring with it a raft of additional cost and regulation. I am pleased to say Government will not be taking forward the idea of a statutory levy.

Neither did the Government decide to introduce mandatory player tracking. They encouraged the industry to continue its work with the Gambling Commission to explore whether this is even possible let alone desirable once the costs/benefits have been properly identified. Bacta, the Gambling Business Group, the Bingo Association and the National Casino Forum had a constructive meeting with the Commission on this very topic a couple of weeks ago. I would like to extend my thanks to Tony Boulton and Gabi who have both been instrumental in our discussions with the Commission, taking time out to demonstrate that the cost of retrofitting machines would pose an existential threat to many arcades. As a consequence of these meetings bacta were able to set the record straight, resulting in a ‘softer’ approach from the Commission.

The above scenario demonstrates how imperative it is that we work together as an association, and how important member’s input is in discussions with stakeholders.

We should also not forget that the one directly relevant positive decision the Government did make, other than on FOBTs, was to uplift the stake and prize for prize bingo as bacta requested. That won’t transform the business landscape for FECs but it is something.

Once the dust has settled bacta will be seeking to engage constructively with all sectors of the gambling industry to plan for the future. Now the playing field is level there is an opportunity to set out what changes to stakes, prizes, technical standards and products we would like to see. Crucially we can integrate that plan with the ambitions we have to augment our social responsibility measures correspondent and proportionate to the changes we wish to see. That is sensible and achievable. We already have a list of SR measures we are working on from player diaries through to messaging and limit setting on machines. All are consistent with the expectations of Government and therefore should enjoy support if we can get the industry behind them. As I said in my Convention speech last year, SR is now a precondition of change. The indications from Government are that this is their view too.

Whilst the build up to last week’s announcement occupied an increasing amount of resource and time, bacta’s work on other issues continues. Cashless payment solutions is a high priority, and again I was encouraged by the words of Government on this, acknowledging that industry has to find a solution to an unstoppable trend towards non-cash payments whilst utilising the technology for SR purposes. We are making progress. Our negotiations with PPL/PRS on Copyright licensing are continuing. We are already building for the Convention in November and I am happy to be able to confirm that new Gambling Commission CEO, Neil McArthur will be making a Key Note speech. Also look out for an announcement of a new event we have planned for the day before the Convention. We will also again hold a Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons on the evening before the Convention to which all members are invited.

A number of members will be at the Euromat Summit next week in Monte Carlo. If you haven’t booked there is still an opportunity to do so. Bacta’s immediate past-President, Jason Frost, is the current President of Euromat and would I know like to see as many bacta members there as possible. Contact me if you would like to go.

Congratulation to another past-President of bacta, Steve Hawkins, who organised once again the London and Home Counties Golf Day at Moor Park on Tuesday. The event raised over £13,000 for the bacta Charitable Trust. Thanks to Steve and to all those who donated prizes and to those that bought them.

Please make a note of this year’s Responsible Gambling Week from 1st – 7th November. Linda will be sending a series of updates over the Summer to keep you informed of plans for the week but we would ask all manufacturers to plan to included RGW messaging on their digital products and all AGC operators to plan to display RGW posters in their windows.

Finally, I would like to welcome David Miller to the bacta team. David will be the Regional Compliance Officer for London and the Southern and Eastern Counties. David is currently visiting members to find out as much as he can about our industry. I know members will give him a warm welcome.

As always I am delighted to hear members’ views by email, phone or in person at Regional Meetings.