Kenny Alexander, GVC’s CEO, finds the lawmakers push for slashing online slots as ridiculous. British lawmakers are calling for the slashing of online slots maximum stakes to £2.
This move was recommended by the all-party group (APPG) which had researched on gambling problems for six months. Earlier in September, the group had organized meetings with gambling CEO’s.
Alexander had failed to appear for the hearings which prompted Carolyn Harris the Labor MP to conclude that the gambling heads were “running scared”. The group further pointed out Alexander’s absence in the meetings as cowardly.
The all-party group is keen to apply the same strict cuts that had been established for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT). The FOBTs which have been established all over the country have been labeled a “social scourge” following the addictive effects it has on gamblers.
At the beginning of the year, the government had the maximum stakes for FOBTs slashed from £100 to a minimum of £2. The government followed through with its aim to regulate the gambling markets despite the threat of mass layoffs by betting industries. Layoffs are already starting.
In Kenny’s views the government’s proposed slashing stakes for online slots is bound to cause more trouble than solving the problem at hand. In a London conference regarding the perception “Reputation Matters: The Gambling Sector in the Spotlight”, Alexander shared that comparing FOBTs and online slots was a false comparison.
He backed up his claims by explaining that FOBTs did not have black markets like there were in online gambling. Reducing stakes for FOBTs was effective while on online markets the same reduction will drive online gamblers into the hands of deceptive operators from other countries.
Alexander further explained that slashing stakes for online slots will neither help the government protect its gambling citizens nor earn them revenue as all the money will be channeled to black markets.
The other reason that the CEO presented for not slashing maximum stakes for online slots is that unlike FOBTs, online operators have the ability to monitor its players’ habits. In FOBTs, a player could reach the maximum stake at one retail outlet and move to the next without being noticed or stopped.
Alexander could be offering vital advice to the British lawmakers following his vast experience in the field. GVC which is British’s gambling and sport betting company is now the biggest online gaming operator that is well regulated.
It has also joined in to become a retail operator after acquiring LadBrokes Coral, a land-based bookmaker. GVC Holdings has also risen to become the 20th highest taxpayer in the UK which in a way gives the CEO a good platform to share his views.
On his non-attendance, the CEO explained he had a year-long scheduled meeting on his calendar on the same day of the hearing. While he could have sent a representative, Alexander expressed that he did not want to have someone criticized on his behalf.
With those remarks, he wished the lawmakers would make a more thoughtful decision.
Source: https://www.casino.org/news/gvc-boss-kenny-alexander-pans-plan-for-2-online-slots/
