Fixed Odds Betting Terminal (FOBT)

FOBTs became one of the most politically charged products in UK gambling history. Following years of public pressure focused on the £100 maximum stake on B2 category roulette and slot games, the UK government reduced the maximum stake to £2 in April 2019. The impact on retail betting shop economics was substantial: FOBT revenue dropped sharply, and the UK high street saw significant shop closures across the major bookmaker brands in the months and years following the stake limit change. The FOBT case is now the reference example for stake limit policy debates in other jurisdictions. Operators in markets considering similar restrictions cite the UK retail closures as evidence that hard stake limits drive players away or push them online or offshore. Regulators and harm-prevention groups point to the reduced harm signals as evidence the policy worked. Both perspectives are present in current policy debates from Australia to several US states.