Over £70million was gambled on casino-style machines in Exeter last year.
Gamblers in the city pumped the cash into Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals, dubbed as 'as addictive as crack cocaine', new data has revealed.
The Campaign for Fairer Gambling have released the figures in the hope that it will lead to regulations on the machines being tightened.
Adrian Parkinson, Campaign for Fairer Gambling Consultant, said:
"Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) are touch-screen roulette and casino gaming machines in betting shops, on which it is possible to stake up to £100 every 20 seconds. The high stakes and speed of play have led to the machines being called "the crack cocaine of gambling", and the Gambling Act 2005 limits each betting shop to four FOBTs – so bookies leapfrog regulations by opening up as many shops as possible, which is why we get clustering, especially in poorer areas as our research has shown."
In Exeter £70.3million was placed in 47 machines across 13 betting shops in the region, which averages as £1,495,278 spent in each machine.
In total over £5billion was gambled on machines across the country last year.
Mr Parkinson added:
"We believe the only way to stop machine-driven proliferation of betting shops is to make the machines less profitable. So we recommend reducing to maximum stake from £100 down to £2, increasing the time between plays, and removing table game content – all of these recommendations would bring B2 machines in line with other Category B machines."
Exeter has the second highest amount gambled in Devon behind Torbay's total of £97.3million (See graph below).
Analysis of the figures shows that four times the amount is bet in unemployment blackspots than in richer constituencies.
A spokesman for the Association of British Bookmakers told the Daily Mail: "The industry employs 45,000 people and supports a further 60,000 jobs in the economy.
"Our members pay £1 billion in taxes, far more than any other comparable retail businesses." Click here to see the full report or visit www.fairergambling.org
| Region | 11/2012 general and by-election win | Count of betting shop licenses | Count of FOBT | Gross Gambling Yield | Total Gambled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | Labour | 13 | 47 | £2,192,676 | £70,278,087 |
| North Devon | Lib-Dem | 8 | 29 | £1,349,339 | £43,248,053 |
| Plymouth, Moor View | Labour | 4 | 15 | £674,670 | £21,624,027 |
| Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport | Conservative | 12 | 44 | £2,024,009 | £64,872,080 |
| Newton Abbot | Conservative | 11 | 40 | £1,855,341 | £59,466,073 |
| Tiverton and Honiton | Conservative | 9 | 33 | £1,518,007 | £48,654,060 |
| Torbay | Lib-Dem | 18 | 66 | £3,036,013 | £97,308,120 |
| East Devon | Conservative | 5 | 18 | £843,337 | £27,030,033 |
