Roulette Machines In Betting Shops

[gollob]

On Anglia TV tonight an 70 year old man said he has lost his garage business ,his home and his marriage partner and has been living in a shed. He was not a gambler but won £30 the first time he played, and then got hooked The government are now debating that the maximum bet on then should be reduced for £100 down to £50, £10 or even £2.00. They should be banned completely. Is there anybody in favour of them?

[gollob]

He has lost over £300.000

[mikey4444]

No, not at all. All machines should be removed from betting shops and they should revert back to what they were....a place to go a put a bet on a horse.

[EDDIE51]

^ no hope of that, the machines are by far the most profitable part of a betting shop business.
I also know a woman who lost so much money she and her family were evicted from their home due to not paying the rent. It was even worse because the rest of her family knew nothing about it until the bailiffs arrived. She had managed to keep it all secret.

[Jahulaye]

When I was working at a betting place some regulars would come in and put hundred in the machines, the cash pot was £100 and £500 pound machines which had many games on them to choose from, I’ve seen people gamble £300-£800 and lose all the time, heartbreaking to have that addiction to a machine that never loves you but loves your money

[Hymie]

The correct terminology for these electronic roulette games is Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT).

Theoretically these should have a pay-out of over 97%, so if someone was to gamble £500 in £5 bets on 1 of the 36 numbers – after gambling the entire £500 (100 bets) they should have lost £15. On average, to loose the entire £500 they would have to place over 3,000 bets.

Since so many people appear to be loosing so much money on these machines, has me thinking that perhaps they really are fix odds betting terminals – in that the odds are fixed at a much lower pay-out than 97%.

If the odds are not fixed, and a machine takes £1,000 in winnings - punters should have gambled over £35,000.

[emmie]

not in the least, have seen endless people hooked on gambling and its not a pretty sight.

[Jahulaye]

Exactly hymie, the machines eat thousand before giveing the gambler a “little taste” with a minuscule win to keep them interested

[woofgang]

the problem with your answer Hymie is that for odds to be correct, you have to play the machine to infinity....just like tossing dice.....the other thing is that it takes a lot of losers to make the winners....and people do win. Myself, although I do the lottery, I think that gambling of any kind can be a very dangerous thing for some people.

[EDDIE51]

^ Not sure about the fixed odds betting terminals , but the old £200 Jackpot fruit machines that only members clubs could have , had switches inside to vary the payout % . It was variable from 72 % to 92% I think.

[Barmaid]

I'm not in favour of them, however I do think that this idea of banning things because some people get addicted is wrong. Yes there are some people that get into terrible situations as a result (I once saw someone go to prison because he had stolen thousands from his employers to support his slot machine addiction), but there are other who enjoys it and are able to restrict their use.

Do we ban everything that people may get addicted to? People get addicted to alcohol, fast food, speed, sex. Should we spoil that for everyone because of the problems of the few? Dont get me wrong, I have immense sympathy for anyone afflicted by any form of addiction, but is banning these things the answer?

[Jahulaye]

“had switches inside to vary the payout % . It was variable from 72 % to 92% I think.“

Wow, so they were physically scamming as well as electronically scamming as well? I never knew that

[Jahulaye]

Thanks for taking the time to correct my typo, the internet needs more people like you, you’ve not my English literature teacher by any chance? Lol. I’m joking you’re right but being “loose” with your money is pretty apt.

[EDDIE51]

I used to run a social club bar, we had 2 jackpot machines. There was a small notice on them saying ''The minimum payout of this machine is 72%''
So there was no scam. But anyone who knew how it worked and had the keys to open it could set the payout % . It was just a row of switches, that set the % according to how many were switched up or down.

[Hymie]

When I started work back in the 70s, the company had a sports and social club which had two of the £200 pay-out machines located in the bar area.

The whole social club operation was run on a not for profit basis, and generously subsidised club activities – the bar prices were set such that bar did not make a profit on the drink sales.

The two £200 pay-out machines were the source of the funds for club activities – the social club accounts showed that between the machines, they were making close to £1,000 per week.

[douglas9401]

I've never seen one of these machines but I've had a couple of lessons that I took to heart.
One was the last time I backed horses in the Grand National, spent £8.80 for an £8.00 return. No more horses, waste of time.
The other was in a Glasgow casino where I went in with £70, played till I had enough left for a packet of smokes and a last couple of quid on a number (17) at roulette. It came up and I pretty much had all my money back and have never been near a casino since.
Apparently they're not your friend.
It must be pretty grim being addicted to anything but the ability to take homes and businesses at a couple of visits seems to put drink and drugs in the shade.
I think I'd have them crushed if it was up to me.

[DTCwordfan]

they pay their rent to me.

[EDDIE51]

^Hymie That was the same situation as the club bar I ran.
The only source of income for the sports club of which the bar was part was the drink sales and the fruit machine profit. We had Rugby, Tennis, Squash, Cricket and Running sections.But they all depended on the bar profits to stay viable. Even back in the early 1980s when I was there the fruit machines made £300 a week profit. They basically kept the club alive.

[Jahulaye]

“They basically kept the club alive.”

Mad situation, gambling takes people’s wages, houses and lives so it can pay people’s wages, mortgages and so others can lead their lives.

[EDDIE51]

The machines I am talking about took 10 pence a spin. The ones in betting shops can take £200 a spin which only last a few seconds.
I never heard of anyone losing their life savings on a 10p a go fruit machine, but there are plenty who have done it on the £200 a go machines .